CLARKSVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Albany County 911 communications center has come a long way since its launch in the early 1990s. Sheriff Craig Apple said the old office in Voorheesville just won’t cut it anymore.

“We simply outgrew it,” explained Sheriff Apple. “County got bigger, business got bigger, and we got bigger.”

That’s why he partnered with the county executive, and the legislature, to open a brand-new building in Clarksville. “Four times the size of the original building,” added the Sheriff. “But it’s built basically for decades and decades to come.”

County Executive Dan McCoy told NEWS10 the transformation is truly one-of-a-kind. “It’s amazing,” he said. “I’ve seen it already so my shock value’s over with. Not unless something else changed in there.”

The facility will change the game for emergency dispatching. “We can text 911 now, we can send a video to 911,” noted Sheriff Apple. “We can send you a link, you click the link, and we’ll have access to your camera. We have language translation, which is important. I’m very proud of this building behind us.”

It replaces a building that’s been around for 30 years—before we had iPhones or fancy laptops. But now, dispatchers can use that technology to their advantage.

“We can now use our radios anywhere in the country,” said Sheriff Apple. “And actually, anywhere in the world.”