Purpose of the Washington Parish Communications District

The purpose of the Washington Parish Communications District is to establish and manage operations of an enhanced 9-1-1 emergency communications system in Washington Parish.  The district is governed by a seven member board appointed by the parish government.  Board members receive no compensation for their work.

The Communications District employs three full time personnel to handle the day to day business of the district.  This includes public 9-1-1 education, emergency response agency liaison, 9-1-1 equipment replacement and maintenance, ANI/ALI database management, Washington Parish map development, maintenance and distribution, plus street addressing outside of the municipalities of Bogalusa and Franklinton.

The district has equipped three primary public safety answering points to receive 9-1-1 calls : The Bogalusa Police Department, the Franklinton Police Department, and the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office.

Each public safety answering point is staffed by the respective agency’s dispatch personnel. These dispatch personnel are employed by their "home" agency who is responsible for their pay, performance, supervision, and training.

The specific activities of the District are as follows

Addressing Activities

• Field addressing outside of Bogalusa and Franklinton

• Verifies addresses in response to appropriate inquires

• Road Sign Assistance

Public Assistance and Education Activities

• Education of the Public on 9-1-1 Usage, Voice and TDD

• Education of PSAP Employees on Equipment Usage

• Education of PSAP Employees on Subjects of 911 Importance

• Team Spirit Enhancement Between 9-1-1 and Fire / Law Enforcement / EMS

• Facilitation to Resolve Citizen Complaints

• Road Sign Assistance

• Road Naming Assistance

• Public Hearings On Road Name Changes

Mapping Activities

• Conversion of Existing paper maps to digital

• Map Updating

• Road Index Updating

• Addition of new map features

• Provide maps to agencies and individuals

• Using GeoPoint Mapping System :

  • Stream roads in Washington Parish which reside in the offical Intrado MSAG data base.  

  • Determine GPS coordinates of all bridges in Washington Parish.

  • Determine GPS coordinates of ESN (Fire District) boundaries whenever a boundary line crosses a MSAG listed road.

  • Determine GPS coordinates of all addressed structures in Washington Parish.

  • Adjust GPS point file of roof top addresses to actual roof tops as shown on the aerial photo layer in GeoPoint.

  • Add or correct road name data for each roof top address to the MSAG valid name.

  •  Bread crumb all new roads when they are addressed and record road direction, and TO / FROM, LEFT / RIGHT data.

  • Download new data into Map Info program for final editing and printing

  • Revise GeoPoint data to match Geo-Comm data.

• Using calibrated measuring odometer in Communication District Automobile

  • Determine the five digit address for all requests from the public and record on field addressing sheets on those roads outside the city limits of Franklinton or Bogalusa. 

  • Determine the three or four digit addresses for all requests from the public on those roads outside the city limits of Franklinton or Bogalusa which were originally given such addresses by the US Post Office.

  • Where three or four digit addresses are given, also determine the five digit address for future reference and record on field addressing sheets.

  • Determine the five digit address of all bridges in Washington Parish and record on field addressing sheets.

  • Determine the five digit address of ESN boundaries when the boundary crosses a MSAG listed road

• Using Field Addressing sheets :

  • Record five digit addresses of houses, structures, etc.

  • Record bridge addresses

  • Record ESN boundary address if road is crossed by ESN boundary line.

  • Compare ESN number for roads on the GeoPoint digital map to that shown on Field sheets and correct field sheets to the ESN number shown on GeoPoint.

  • Correct ESN’s on field sheets to reflect changes

  • Review road segment data corrections from Geo-Comm when their project is finished and correct  field addressing sheets to match new road segments.

  • Document all road segment changes for MSAG updates.

  • Add new field sheets for new roads.

  • File all field addressing data sheets

• Using Excel spread sheet program :

  • Develop template of existing field addressing form

  • Convert existing field addressing sheets to Excel format.

• Using  Access data base:

  • Record addresses issued

  • Using Map Info software

  • Perform editing of map information downloaded from GeoPoint.

  • After editing, burn CD of map data and send to Geo-Comm for additional editing prior to Geo-Comm downloading to PSAP’s.

  • Revise Map Info data to match Geo-Comm data.

PSAP Equipment Coordination Activities

• Serves as contact for PSAP technical problems by the emergency response agencies

• Maintains Emergency Communications Center and Tower Complex

• Coordinates technical response to maintenance issues as they arise

• Maintains equipment breakdown history and technical service logs

• Supply PSAP equipment to the public service law enforcement agencies

• Monitor cell tower testing for Phase 1 and 2 performance

Wireless  Activities  

• Phase II wireless cell testing support to the wireless carriers

VoIP  Activities  

• VoIP testing support to the service providers

Administrative Activities

• Fixed Asset Management

• Revenue / Cost Management

• Accounting of all financial transactions Data base management of local ACCESS data base and liaison with the ATT/Intrado data base

• Data updates to Washington Parish Assessor’s office

• Support activities for the Board and its members

Special Projects

•  Manage and support the completion of projects to improve performance of present equipment

• Manage and support the completion of projects to improve performance of new equipment