Pitkin County Dispatch Center construction moves to next phase

Pitkin County is currently ending the first of three phases for the Pitkin County Regional Dispatch Center, but staff is requesting additional funds as the project progresses. 

The new center is being built inside of the Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Station 42 building, and will include office space, a “decompression room” for dispatchers, a server room and more. 

“Some of the big changes from our current dispatch center is an increased operations area …  we’ve got office space, staff does not currently have office spaces,” Jeff Krueger, Pitkin County Regional Emergency Dispatch Center project manager told Pitkin County commissioners on Tuesday. “Dispatch operator is considered probably one of the most stressful jobs there is, making human design a key factor.” 

But in order to maintain the envisioned designed, the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners received an update on a potential $400,000 budget supplemental request that will need to be submitted for the completion of the project. 

The county has been exploring standalone dispatch center options since it was determined that the current location in Aspen Fire Station 62 was cramped and insufficient. Roaring Fork Fire Rescue approached the county and offered a potential space in its remodeled El Jebel-based Station 42. 

The county agreed to join the renovations in 2025 and set aside $5 million for the project — planning for a new dispatch center on the second floor of Station 42. This year, an additional $3.5 was set aside for the project due to an “expanded footprint” and “inflationary pressures,” according to county documents. 

The new dispatch center will be a roughly 4,000 square foot floor of the larger Station 42 building and will include as many as eight dispatch consoles — eclipsing their current four stations. There will also be a dedicated server room, among other additions.

Construction began at Station 42 in August 2025, according to county documents. Since breaking ground, crews have laid the foundation for the new building, completed exterior steel framing, completed roofing, installed utility lines and telecommunications equipment and installed most of the exterior siding and other exterior details. 

Phase two, currently underway, is set to be complete in October and will focus on the interior buildout of the building, including HVAC systems, insulation, dry wall and more. 

The last phase will focus on installation of computer systems and implementation of technological systems, like the server rooms, additional communications infrastructure and more. 

According to county staff, the first two phases of the project are funded by the $8.5 million, with additional contingency that the county can use to complete the project. The final phase of construction, however, may push the project over budget, and the Board of County Commissioners will be asked at a future regular meeting in June to approve a $400,000 budget supplemental to cover potential additional costs incurred by the completion of the dispatch center. 

According to Krueger, the county may not need this money to finish the dispatch center, but staff need to request the money now in case it’s needed later.

“We need to ask for a budget supplemental now to cover costs now,” Krueger explained to the county commissioners. “If we don’t spend all that money … that would reduce our supplemental requests, but unfortunately, we have to ask for the full amount now.”

While the commissioners were supportive of the project, Commissioner Patti Clapper expressed frustration that budget supplementals were being brought to the board so late in the process, making the denial of such requests difficult. 

“I just find it very concerning that phase three budget wasn’t included,” Clapper said. “You’re kind of coming back to us now with the buildings three quarters of the way built. How do we say no? We don’t have a choice here.”