MANSFIELD — Police chief Jason Bammann asked for a mobile operations center that can be used for more than just emergencies.
“This is a mobile billboard. This is something the Mansfield Police Department can be proud of and something the community can be proud of also,” Bammann told City Council on Tuesday evening.
“I don’t want this to sit and collect dust,” the chief said. “I want to use this to engage with the community, to engage with children.”
Local lawmakers granted his wish, agreeing to spend $862,079 on a new 38-foot, custom-built, coach-style command center from Farber Speciality Vehicles in Columbus.
A bit of financial creativity is being used to replace a 31-year-old vehicle the city purchased used a decade ago. It will be paid for with $275,779 in American Rescue Plan Act funds and $586,300 from 2024 police salaries that were not spent due to vacant positions in a department still struggling to recruit additional officers.
(Below are photos of a mobile operations center produced by Farber Specialty Vehicles similar to one being made for the Mansfield Police Department.)
The new vehicle, which will take a year to produce and be delivered, will be housed at Mansfield Fire Department Station 4 on South Main Street.
Bammann was joined during his presentation at council’s safety committee meeting by Mark Huckleberry, operations supervisor at the city’s 911 communications center, as well as Mansfield Fire Department Chief Dan Crow.
He said the department’s mechanic, Matt Smith, has managed to keep the 1993 command post operational, but that the frame itself was beginning to rust.
“We should have probably put it out to pasture about four years ago,” the chief said.
The chief said one of the primary uses of the vehicle is for emergency situations that can require a long-term presence, such as a hostage standoff like the three-hour situation that took place in October on Cline Avenue.
In such a situation, the operations center can be divided into three separate rooms, each with multiple video screens on the walls.
The front section would be for department and city leaders. The middle would be occupied by the incident commander, the SWAT commander and the hostage negotiator. The rear compartment would be the communications center, used by 911 dispatchers and others.
“These last couple of years, we’ve actually had fire chiefs come in there and have played roles, giving us good information,” Bammann said.
“We have a mayor that’s engaged, so I expect her in there. So that number varies depending on the event. This gives us that ability to still block that off and still have the people involved,” the chief said.
The chief said there is also a camera on a tether that could “fly” above the command post to provide video surveillance around the area near the operations center.
But the new vehicle can be used for much more, he said, adding that when people see the current mobile command post on the road, they assume something bad has happened.
“I want to get away from that,” he said.
The vehicle can also be used at large community events, such as the annual Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival that attracts 75,000 people over three days to the grounds of the former Ohio State Reformatory.
“Mark runs all of his comms from out there at the prison. It doesn’t even affect in-house (dispatching). So we’re still able to provide our (normal) services while that event is going on,” the chief said.
“That event is like a city within a city.
“I see this city moving leaps and bounds forward. I do believe that we’re going to have bigger events. We have a very progressive mayor that is pushing us in the right direction, so we are also trying to look forward to what’s to come and be prepared before it gets here,” Bammann said.
In a department and an industry that struggles to meet manpower goals, Bammann said the new command post could also help in recruiting new officers.
“We have to impress. We all know that it’s a cut-throat game right now with recruiting and retention. Currently, I send two officers and a cruiser with a fold-up table and a half cover, with the MPD (logo) into a gymnasium and we’re like, ‘Come to the MPD.’
“I want to take this and park it at the front door. It looks like a billboard. When people are coming in, I want to say, ‘Hey, come here, talk to us first,” the chief said.
He said the idea for replacing the current mobile command post began about two years ago with former Chief Keith Porch, when Bammann was assistant chief. Porch is now the city’s safety service director.
The diesel-powered vehicle has a 20,000-watt generator and could run for three days straight on its own, if needed, according to the chief.
The new command center could provide opportunities to collaborate with the city fire department, especially now that the two departments are on the same MARCS digital radio system.
“I support this. Expanding this partnership makes perfect sense. We have the space at the moment to house it,” Crow said. “There is a lot of opportunity for the fire department to use this, as well.”
Council members praised the idea.
“I grew up seeing police cars going by and being thrilled to see that, and none of my peers felt that way,” said 1st Ward Councilwoman Laura Burns, whose father was a Mansfield police officer.
“When my dad came home for dinner and parked his cruiser in the driveway, all the neighbors were stressed. “It shouldn’t have to be like that,” she said.
At-large Councilwoman Shari Robertson, a retired MDP captain, said she could speak from experience about issues with the current command post — and previous models.
“We had nicknames (which I won’t go into) at the (police department), but I can remember us towing one to a scene early on in my career because it it would not start. Talk about embarrassing,” she said.
“I know when we got the other one with (former) Chief (Ken) Coons, that was a huge help to us, to our detectives on scenes. I know this would be an asset to our city and I love the collaboration with the police and fire,” Robertson said.