GREEN RIVER - After months of negotiations with Qwest, Sweetwater County Commissioners finally got the contract they wanted for enhanced 911 (E911) services for cell phone users.

The move will allow the county to finish the first phase of the scheduled enhancement of 911 emergency services and begin planning for the second phase, Sweetwater County Emergency Management Director Judy Valentine said.

Valentine told commissioners other counties in the state have been watching Sweetwater County's efforts to enhance their E911 cell phone services before pursing upgraded and enhanced 911 services themselves.

"We're being watched closely to see how this contract ended up," she said.

The county must upgrade to E911 by 2005 in order to meet Federal Communication Commission regulations.

The commissioners agreed to the $110,000 contract with Qwest for E911 services during a meeting Tuesday. The first phase of the county's project will cost approximately $34,000 to install the necessary equipment.

Currently, cell phone users dial into non-emergency lines at the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department's dispatch center to report emergencies.

Valentine said using non-emergency lines could cause potential serious delays in response to emergencies because when people call on cell phones, dispatchers sometimes don't know it's an emergency and callers are put on hold.

She said implementation of the service is imperative so the possibility of 911 calls being put on hold doesn't occur and so that emergency providers can obtain cell phones numbers to allow for call backs if necessary.

The first phase of wireless enhanced 911 services will allow dispatchers to locate cell phones within an approximately 20-mile radius of where they are placed, according to plans.

The system will determine the towers which the call is accessing to mark the approximate location of the caller.

The second phase will increase that ability and allow dispatchers to pinpoint the location of the call within a few meters using latitude and longitude readings. Phase two is expected to cost approximately $59,000.

Deputy County Attorney Jason Petri has been negotiating since June with Qwest officials to come to an agreement over wording in the proposed contract, which allowed Qwest 24 hours to repair wireless E911 after notification of problems with the system.

The contract said if repairs are made within the time frame, the county still pays the bill. Commissioners were unhappy with that option and sought a shorter time frame.

"After long discussions and negotiations … the new contract will entitle the county to be credited if Qwest interrupts service for more than four hours," Petri said.

"I believe we've won … way to go," Commissioner Ted Ware said, congratulating Petri.

Commission Chairman John Pallesen agreed. "This is really great … we had good scrutiny of the contract … and it's good to be little bit persistent at times," he said.