New 911 address packets go out

December 27, 2002|by DAVE McMILLION

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Packets will be distributed to Jefferson County homes notifying county residents of their new 911 addresses, a county official said.

After homeowners receive the packets, postmasters will inform residents when to start using the new addresses, said Jeff Polczynski, director of communications for Jefferson County.

Polczynski said he hopes to have the packets distributed in the first quarter of 2003.

While Polczynski is working on the new addresses, the county also is in the process of designing new street signs.

The county is expected to spend about $250,000 to erect new street signs in the county, the Jefferson County Commissioners said at a meeting last week.

It is possible that new street signs also will be going up in the first quarter of 2003, Polczynski said.

Under the enhanced 911 system, an address will be assigned to every 5.28 feet of road frontage in the county, Polczynski said. By assigning an address every 5.28 feet, county officials can be assured there will be a logical address numbering system for the county no matter how much the county develops, Polczynski said.

The addressing system is designed to make it easier for emergency response crews and police to find homes.

Officials said they had to eliminate duplicated road names because they can be confusing to police and medical personnel responding to emergencies.

About 208 roads had to be re-named because they were using names of existing roads, officials said.

There were 125 roads with no names, officials said.

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