By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

AUBURN – Police, fire and 911 officials still have more questions than answers when it comes to combining dispatch services across Androscoggin County.

A group of seven emergency service and municipal leaders will meet this summer to narrow those questions and hire professionals to write a comprehensive study of emergency dispatch needs.

“The main goal will be staying focused,” said Lewiston City Administrator Jim Bennett. “We had a lot of questions here about where a combined dispatch center would be, or who would run it. That’s not the point now. We need to know what’s going to be feasible.”

Officials from Lewiston, Auburn, Androscoggin County and several towns met in Auburn Hall Wednesday to discuss how to get answers.

Maine 911 call-answering centers are facing a state mandate to reduce their numbers. Call centers for Lisbon, Androscoggin County and Lewiston-Auburn now have until fall 2006 to combine their 911 answering services.

Local officials began discussing combining dispatch services as well. The three agencies currently take all of the 911 calls and, with the Livermore Falls Police Communication Center, dispatch all emergency workers in Androscoggin County.

The cities and towns hired Massachusetts-based All-Comm Technologies Inc. to map out the initial costs.

That report came back in May, stating that it could cost about $663,000 for new radio and computer equipment and workstations. The group would also need 6,437 square feet of space, almost double the size of Lewiston/Auburn 911’s 3,269 square feet of offices below Auburn’s Central fire station.

But costs are only part of the picture, according to Mechanic Falls Town Manager Dana Lee.

“We need to know who is using what and how much it’s costing them,” Lee said. City and town leaders will want to know if combining services will save them money or not.

“Even beyond costs, there are questions about efficiency,” said Auburn City Councilor Eric Samson. The group needs assurance that dispatchers in one part of the county would be familiar enough with streets in another part to direct emergency services.