MALONE -- Franklin County will fight a State Police decision to close its communications center in Malone and centralize dispatching of troopers to another site.

Fear of slower response times to calls and too many new troopers unfamiliar with the many rural roads in Franklin County were two concerns shared Thursday by District 2 Legislator Daniel Crippen (D-Burke), chairman of the County Legislature's Public Safety Committee.

State Police Major Richard Smith had said last week that the closure would move trooper dispatching for northern Franklin County to either Plattsburgh or to Troop B headquarters in Ray Brook.

He said supervisors and investigators would remain in the Malone barracks, and the troopers would be out on the roads.

Smith said that even more troopers will be on patrol than now because an armed officer would no longer have to be in the station to protect civilian dispatchers.

With the dispatchers gone, an automated telephone would be placed at the entrance to the barracks; callers could pick up and be immediately connected to the State Police.

The dispatchers would be offered jobs at the new site once it is determined, but either option is about an hour's drive from Malone one way.

And even when the new State Police barracks is built, on the west end of U.S. Route 11, it will not have a communications center unless a command post were needed in a large-scale emergency.

Crippen said Thursday he sponsored a resolution opposing the planned Sept. 30 closure after receiving several complaints from town supervisors, fire-department personnel and school-board members.

"That was the concern I was getting, that there would be a slower response time if someone was being sent out by Ray Brook," Crippen said.

"And we kind of get young, inexperienced troopers who don't know the geography."

Emergency Services Assistant Director Ricky Provost said closure could also put more pressure on the Malone Village Police Department, which would be the agency most likely to hear from people seeking help.

Crippen added that as many as 20 people, including some from local agencies, visit the barracks to work with troopers.

"If that service isn't available, all they will have is a phone on the wall.

"I don't see where they're (State Police) saving anything. This is not doing any financial good."