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Nowata County is one step closer to integrating NextGen 911 services for the county. An interlocal agreement with Montgomery County, Kansas was approved at this week’s Nowata County Commissioners meeting. The agreement detailed emergency communications, specifically dispatch services for Nowata County.

This idea has been in the works since the summer of 2019. Jerome Gnatek, a South Coffeyville City council member and head of the E911 Special Committee has been leading the effort. He says the next step will be bringing the agreement to attorney’s general in both Oklahoma and Kansas. Both states will need to give their approval before the agreement can proceed.

The dispatch center in Coffeyville already handles 911 dispatching for the City of South Coffeyville. The plan would be to “piggyback” off Coffeyville’s state-of-the-art NextGen 911 capabilities. Nowata County Undersheriff Jason McClain explains how the process would work.

Sheriff Mirta Hallett and City Police Chief Mike McElhaney previously supported the idea. No county in Oklahoma runs on the NextGen 911 program at this time, which would give Nowata an opportunity to become the first. The County is one of few in the currently not running on E911 programming.