Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless is right on target when he says it makes the most sense to keep the 911 center at its current location, although it will require some internal remodeling and adjustments.

This was one of the biggest questions generated by the proposed consolidation between the sheriff’s office dispatching, the 911 center and, possibly, the city of Ironton police dispatch.

The current facility has most of the infrastructure needed. It will only require relatively minor logistical and structural changes to make it a functioning 911 center that can dispatch police departments, fire departments and ambulance services for the entire county.

Creation of this comprehensive approach to emergency service dispatching has been a long time coming and this is another important step.

However, the solution isn’t perfect and variety of questions remain.

These include: How will the two, or three if Ironton is included, unions be handled? Will the remodeled facility have the capacity for growth if needed? Where will the money come from to pay for training and equipment needs? What other operational changes will be needed to complement this change? How will the agreement with the city of Ironton play out?

But despite all of these unresolved issues, the merger makes sense for the county and it makes sense for the citizens who rely on these services in case of emergency.

And that is the most important measuring of success.