Rivercom 911 Move To Confluence Technology Center Falls Through

A plan to move the Wenatchee Valley Rivercom 9-1-1 dispatch center to Confluence Technology Center will not take place. 

A decision had been made months ago to make the move out of Rivercom's current home inside the Wenatchee Police Department building on Mission Street. 

But County Commissioner Tiffany Gering says the Technology Center does not meet earthquakes standards for emergency call centers. 

"Unfortunately, we cannot retrofit the CTC to be a Level 4 building," said Gering, who heads the RiverCom board. 

Emergency call centers are listed in the Seismic Design Category as Category IV - structures designated as essential facilities.  

Rivercom will now have to look at other options to satisfy the need for a larger space for its call center. 

A move is needed to house the agency's expanding staff and evolving technologies. 

"So, we are having to pursue other options," Gering said. "But we are still working with the Port." 

The Confluence Technology Center space is owned by the Chelan Douglas Port Authority, which had been working with Rivercom on the move for months. 

The Port had even drafted a lease proposal calling for a 20-year lease with an option of renewal for 10 years. 

Rivercom Executive Director Lowell Porter was looking forward to the Technology Center move, largely because other sites under consideration would've required building a new center from the ground up at a steeper cost. 

"The project was going to take us a good 36 months, and $15.8 million in resources that we were going to bond." Lowell said.  

The move to the Technology Center space, which was previously occupied by Yahoo, was pegged to cost Rivercom about $5 million after updating the space. 

Gering announced the sudden change in plans for Rivercom during a weekly public discussion with her fellow Chelan County commissioners.