At a special meeting held at the 911 Center last Thursday, members of the Lake Sherwood Estates board of directors made a case for not proceeding with the readdressing to the 911 board of directors. "We hope you will consider the uniqueness of our community before you make your decision," said Lake Sherwood board treasurer Don Ingli to the 911 board. "Readdressing of our properties will serve no benefit to us or to the emergency services providers." Ingli said he and many other residents felt the new numbering system would be "confusing to many of our residents for a long period of time." Ingli also said the residents of Lake Sherwood consider themselves a municipality. "We are a formal subdivision," added Ingli, "not a rural area. We would hope you follow the same guidelines as the ones that apply to every other municipality in the county." Officials at the 911 center have proposed replacing the current addressing system which is based on two factors: a three-digit number and street name as well as individual lot numbers. 911 officials are considering a five-digit number system similar to the one used in many other unincorporated parts of Warren County. The five-digit address would mean even-numbered residences would be on the south or east side of the street, depending on the direction the street runs, and odd-numbered residences would run north and west. Tina Koch, who handles addressing for the 911 center, explained the five-digit number would be comprised of four components. The first two digits would be determined by the block number on each road. The third digit would be determined by the number of tenths of a mile within each specific block. A fourth digit would allow for future residential growth within a block and the final number would represent the odd or even designation of each house depending on direction. "We have a precise system for how we would determine each house address," Koch said. "We just didn't pull these numbers out of thin air. We drive these roads ourselves to determine the numbering." Carol Sexton, director of the 911 center, said the basis of the readdressing proposal was generated by the desire to have a more precise location to dispatch police, fire and ambulance service responders to an emergency. "We've had calls from Lake Sherwood residents who want us to change the addressing system," she explained. "And our emergency responders also tell us the present system is very confusing." Ingli said the Lake Sherwood board asked for the meeting with 911 personnel because they were "very interested in the safety of our community." But Ingli also conceded "if you don't know your way around, sometimes what appears to be the shortest distance (to a residence) may actually be the longest." There are approximately 480 residences currently within Lake Sherwood Estates, board members said. There are also another 1,800 unimproved properties. Ingli said readdressing would cost the association around $25,000 to redo existing maps and street signs. In addition, he said homeowners would have to spend an additional $25,000-50,000 collectively to update their records and addresses. There also remains the possibility of legal action from Lake Sherwood Estates against the 911 Center if the readdressing proceeds, Ingli said. The association has retained Kurt Voss of Washington as its legal counsel. "We're staying away from legal issues tonight," said Ingli. "But they still exist." Lake Sherwood resident George Winkeler, who attended last week's meeting, asked Sexton if street addresses show up on the screens of 911 responders when they receive an emergency call. "If the call is coming from a land line, they will," replied Sexton. "But if it's a cell phone, it may depend on which company you have service through." Officials from the 911 board said last week they have reached no firm decision on whether they will undertake the readdressing of Lake Sherwood. "They are no different than anyone else in an unincorporated area," said Sexton. "They have some problems with addressing. "We expect to make a decision on this and notify the property owners, in writing, within the next 60 days," Sexton concluded.