Doña Ana County emergency operations center nears completion, will house backup dispatch center
Doña Ana County’s $14.3 million emergency operations center is nearly complete and will include a backup regional dispatch center and training facility.
The $14.3 million facility on NMSU property is awaiting electrical service before systems can be tested and staff begin moving in
Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News
LAS CRUCES - A $14.3 million Doña Ana County emergency operations center years in the making is nearing completion and will include a backup regional dispatch center capable of putting 10 dispatchers on live consoles at once.
Stephen Lopez, one of Doña Ana County’s three acting county managers, told commissioners Aug. 25 that the new Office of Emergency Management facility is largely complete and awaiting an electrical hookup from El Paso Electric before its systems can be tested and employees begin moving in.
“There’s just a punch list” of remaining work, Lopez said.
The facility is being built on New Mexico State University property along Tortugas Trail, formerly known as Geothermal Drive, near the NMSU Golf Course.
Once open, it will house OEM administrative offices, a disaster-supply warehouse and space for coordinating disaster response and training.
Backup regional dispatch center
The building will also provide a backup dispatch center for the Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority, which handles emergency communications for agencies in Las Cruces and Doña Ana County.
Lopez said MVRDA recently approved new dispatcher consoles for the facility.
“MVRDA is looking forward to having a full backup dispatch center,” Lopez told commissioners.
The center will also be used for dispatcher training. Lopez said as many as 10 dispatchers will be able to train simultaneously on live consoles.
“They will be conducting their training from now on in that facility,” he said. “So they can actually have 10 dispatchers going through training simultaneously, all live on the consoles.”
Lopez called the facility “a great partnership” between the county and MVRDA.
The backup operation adds another function to a project that began taking shape several years ago.
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Support Organ Mountain NewsNMSU site emerged in 2022
The county began evaluating locations for a new emergency management facility before 2022, considering more than a dozen potential sites.
In October 2022, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported that ASA Architects recommended an NMSU-owned parcel along Tortugas Trail after OEM had narrowed its own search to three other locations.
Consultants cited the university site’s access to existing roads and infrastructure, proximity to Interstate 25 and elevation that met Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements.
Lopez, who was then OEM director, also told commissioners the site could facilitate partnerships with other agencies, including the New Mexico Department of Agriculture and New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The county ultimately leased the NMSU property for 45 years, with two additional 10-year renewal options, according to 2024 reporting by the Las Cruces Bulletin.
Project budget reaches $14.3 million
Commissioners approved major funding for the project in March 2024.
At the time, Lopez said construction of the new building would cost $12,453,309.70, with another $650,000 needed for furniture and computer equipment. About $2.9 million in federal money had already been secured toward construction, according to the Bulletin.
About $5.6 million of the funding approved by commissioners in 2024 came from unspent American Rescue Plan Act money.
The project budget increased again this year.
In March, commissioners unanimously approved a $1.2 million mid-year budget adjustment for additional network infrastructure, specialized communications server equipment and furniture needed to finish outfitting the facility.
Those approved amounts bring the project’s overall budget to $14,303,309.70.
Commissioners on Aug. 25 approved another budget revision involving $675,873 in ARPA funds for the emergency management facility and a separate enterprise resource planning system project.
That revision does not identify $675,873 as additional spending solely on the emergency operations center. County agenda materials say the money had already been approved for the two projects but the associated ARPA budget adjustments were omitted from the county’s final budget because of timing during the budget process.
The revision establishes the spending authority needed to proceed with the projects before the federal funds must be spent by Dec. 31.
For the emergency operations center itself, the more immediate deadline is considerably simpler: electricity.
Once El Paso Electric completes the hookup, Lopez said the county can test the building’s systems, finish remaining punch-list work and begin moving staff into the facility.
Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.
