Union County has finished construction on a new $3.8 million 911 Communication Center in Blairsville. The 8,000-square-foot building on Shoe Factory Road will eventually house the county's emergency dispatch operations and mapping services.
According to Union County Fire/Rescue & EMA, construction on the new center began in May 2025 and is now complete, with the building set to serve as the county's official public safety answering point once it's fully online. The dispatch center will occupy the ground floor, while roughly 4,500 square feet on the upper level is reserved for county 911 mapping operations, according to North Georgia News. The facility will also provide secure storage space for multiple county departments, and officials say the new building and its equipment are meant to offer more efficient service for citizens and a more secure location for the county's public safety function.
Who's Building It, and What's Inside
The Union County Board of Commissioners awarded the construction contract to Blairsville-based Winkler & Winkler Inc. for $3,868,241 back in April 2025, selecting the firm from among 13 contractor proposals after a five-week review of qualifications and pricing, North Georgia News reported at the time. The new center is designed to bring together a full suite of modern 911 infrastructure under one roof, including next generation call handling, 911 telephone systems, public safety radio systems, computer aided dispatch, administrative lines, high-speed fiber, telephone and radio recorders, dispatch consoles, and mapping services, per the Facebook announcement from Union County Fire/Rescue & EMA.
Union County has completed contracts and agreements for the technical hardware, software, and other essential services needed to run the center, but the timeline for full operations hasn't been detailed.
How the County Is Paying for It
The project is being funded through Union County's current 1% Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. Union County's overall sales tax rate is 7%, with SPLOST accounting for 1%, according to Union County SPLOST. The structure is designed so tourists and seasonal visitors help cover the cost of capital projects like the new dispatch center, not just full-time residents. A statewide count puts the number of Georgia counties levying a SPLOST at 156 of 159.
Union County operates under a sole commissioner form of government, led by Sole Commissioner Harold Collins, who has overseen both the contract approval and construction progress on the E-911 center. To help residents track how their SPLOST dollars are being spent, the county entered a $13,550 agreement in December 2025 with Point.dog Digital to produce videos explaining how the tax funds capital projects like the new dispatch facility.
A Statewide Push for Next-Generation 911
A Statewide Push for Next-Generation 911 Georgia lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to overhaul the state's 911 infrastructure, aiming to encourage call centers to modernize, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
State lawmakers backed that modernization push with legislation. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the bill to overhaul the state's 911 infrastructure followed regional inquiries into call-answering delays.
More SPLOST-Funded Public Safety Upgrades
The new dispatch center isn't the only public safety investment Union County has made with SPLOST revenue this year. Union County Fire/Rescue also used SPLOST funds in 2026 to purchase Quint 911, a five-function fire apparatus bought from a manufacturer in Jackson, Wisconsin, featuring a pump, water tank, hose storage, ground ladders, and an aerial ladder, per 1st Responder News. The county separately renewed an annual emergency air medical transportation contract capped at $71,480 with Air Methods, LLC in May 2025, with the cost split 50/50 alongside Union General Hospital to keep helicopter transport accessible for residents facing medical emergencies.
Union County Fire Department describes its mission as “our family protecting your family,” a phrase that frames the broader push behind the new center and its companion investments. For now, the building stands finished and ready for public viewing, even as the county works through the remaining technical steps before it can begin fielding real 911 calls.
