Construction of a consolidated Flathead County 911 center appears to be in good shape.

"Right now, we're on target on everything, or on site prep a little ahead," project manager Mark Peck told the new city-county 911 board Wednesday.

Most of that work consisted of excavation and trench digging. Visible above-ground work is scheduled to begin in July, with the center expected to be finished by Dec. 31.

Swank Enterprises is building the center for $3.045 million -about $1.2 million less that the original prediction.

The new board soon will discuss what sort of backup 911 facility should be set up. Possibilities include one in Kalispell, one in Whitefish or a mobile one. The backup facility's cost is expected to be less than $360,000 and is covered by a recent 911 bond.

Last November, Flathead County voters narrowly approved a bond issue of up to $6.9 million to build and equip an 11,800-square-foot 911 center near Glacier High School in northwestern Kalispell.

While $3.3 million covers the construction costs, an additional $1.4 million to $1.8 million is needed to pay for land, some equipment, design work, utilities, the backup center and red-tape costs. That money is included in the bond issue.

If the total cost had been $6.9 million, that would have translated to a $12.48 annual increase in property taxes on a $200,000 house.

Now the bond amount will be adjusted to reflect the actual costs and the extra taxes will be decreased accordingly.

The new building is part of a plan to merge the county's four emergency dispatch centers into one facility.

The new center will handle current and future 911 needs, serve as the new emergency operations headquarters for all of Flathead County and be the depot for the county's emergency vans and trailers as well as a significant amount of other emergency equipment.

The new six-person 911 board consists of Flathead County Commissioner Joe Brenneman as its chairman, County Attorney Ed Corrigan, Sheriff Mike Meehan, Mike Shepard of Columbia Falls, Turner Askew of Whitefish and Duane Larson of Kalispell.

This board replaces a bigger board that oversaw just the Sheriff's Office 911 center. Five of the new board members - with Corrigan being the exception - served on the old board.

The new board will meet at 1 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the county commissioners' office.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com