County breaks ground on new Valley Communications Center

San Bernardino County officials on Tuesday broke ground on the long-awaited Valley Communications Center, a state-of-the-art emergency and disaster response facility.

“In San Bernardino County, we are constantly in battle against the weather and natural disasters,” said Board of Supervisors Chair and Third District Supervisor Dawn Rowe. “The Valley Communications Center will provide the space and the technology to bring all of our local, state, federal and volunteer allies together in one place to plan, prepare, respond and recover in service to our residents.”

Designed to be earthquake-resistant and self-sufficient, the three-story, LEED Gold-certified, 75,085-square-foot structure with a 200-foot-tall communication tower will sit on 6.85 acres at the southeast corner of East Rialto Avenue and Lena Road in San Bernardino.

Due for completion in October 2025, the Valley Communications Center will serve as new, larger quarters for Sheriff’s and Consolidated Fire Agencies (CONFIRE) dispatch centers and the county Office of Emergency Services, all of which currently operate in outdated steel warehouse buildings in Rialto. The building will also house the Inland Counties Emergency Medical Agency (ICEMA).

Sheriff Shannon Dicus said the facility will be a welcome change for his department’s dispatch team, who will benefit from next-generation 911 technology as well as increased situational awareness with enhanced mapping ability.

“The new building includes state-of-the-art technology and ergonomics to support the mission of our dispatch professionals and will increase public safety,” Dicus said. “The current Sheriff’s communications center for the valley, coined ‘Eagle Center,’ has been in the City of Rialto ‘temporarily’ for over 30 years.”

The facility will be capable of self-support over an extended duration of time and act as a stand-alone facility in the event of a disaster. When completed, this facility will accommodate up to 454 emergency planners and responders and will be self-sufficient and resilient.

Like the county-built Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, this facility will be built on a base-isolation system with 33 isolators supporting the building, making it resistant to earthquakes. It will include a back-up water system, redundant generation systems, and technological redundancies to facilitate continual operations for up to three days if it were to be cut off from outside services.

“The county seeks out and takes advantage of the latest technologies to provide public service,” said Fourth District Supervisor Curt Hagman. “The Valley Communications Center is a great example of cutting-edge technology being brought to bear to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of government services.”

The Valley Communications Center will be an imposing structure that leaves the smallest possible footprint.

It will be LEED Gold-certified, meaning it has been constructed to the highest environmental standards. The most-visible green feature will be a 700-kVA photovoltaic system on the parking lot canopies.

“We’ve made sure the facility provides the greatest amount of service with the lightest possible impact on the environment,” said Fifth District Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr.

The total cost of the project will be $125 million, which will be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Additional County Update News – March 21, 2024