The process is expected to last through the week.
The six departments relocating are the Department of Disaster and Emergency Service, North Dakota Highway Patrol, Williams County Sheriff’s Office, Williston Police Department, Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Northwest Narcotic Task Force.
The police department and its 911 center, as well as the sheriff’s office, are the first to move. The other departments are following during the week.
The priority, however, is to have a successful transition of the 911 center. “We hope the transfer of 911 will be seamless,” said Williams County Sheriff Scott Busching.
He hopes the 911 center will be operational at the new facility by Wednesday. Meanwhile, emergency calls are being transferred to state radio in Bismarck.
Williston Police Department Chief Jim Lokken recommends that people give exact directions when they call 911 dispatchers to avoid misunderstanding because dispatchers aren’t familiar with the area.
“It will probably take three days before it’s back being handled locally,” said Busching.
As far as administrative calls, Busching and Lokken ask the general public be patient because there are only three phone lines operating during the move“two for the police department and one for the sheriff office.
“We’ve got 10 lines going into three,” said Busching.
The phone numbers for both the sheriff’s office and police department remain the same.
Lokken hopes administrative calls will begin coming through the new building by Wednesday.
Nevertheless, Busching and Lokken recommend that residents wait until next week to request documents such as permits and accident reports, because administrative personnel may not be operational prior to that.
“Basically, if we can do it next week, let’s wait until next week,” said Busching.
These three phone lines are handling all calls including those for law enforcement officers, so getting in contact with them may take a bit longer than usual, Busching added. In addition, these dispatchers cannot transfer calls to any department, so it is best to leave a name and number when calling.
“What we are asking for is the public’s patience in the administrative portion of the move,” Busching added. “And if you get a busy signal, just keep trying.”
The new law enforcement center is expected to be open for business on Nov. 24. Meanwhile, people can continue to visit the old facility.
“We are still going to handle it here, but we don’t have any equipment or records,” added Lokken.
There are approximately seven different companies involved in the moving process. “It’s a lot of work,” said Busching, adding personnel is working up to 14 hours a day to get everything packed and ready to move.
“We are very optimistic that it’s going to go well,” said Busching.
He said the move has given everyone the opportunity to clean up the filing system.
“This building has been in operation for 35 years, so we are doing three things: one, we are cleaning house; two, we are packing up the necessary stuff; three, we are putting it in the new building “that’s our goal, either to throw it away, take, to put it in the new building,” said Busching.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol is scheduled to begin moving on Thursday.
“It’s not going to go as smoothly as we’d like, and we know that, but it’s going to go relatively smooth,” Busching added. “If we maintain a sense of humor, if we maintain our flexibility, we will get through this.”
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