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County reviews radio tower project; sets Oct. 15 deadline for agencies to supply radio data
Summary
County staff updated the Executive Finance Standing Committee on a radio tower upgrade project and outreach to emergency responder agencies. The county will fund reprogramming of agency radios as part of the tower project; agencies must submit radio make/model and bids for reprogramming by Oct. 15 so the county can reimburse costs.
County staff told the Executive Finance Standing Committee they are working to ensure all emergency responder agencies that serve Richland County residents are prepared for a radio-system changeover and must provide radio inventories and reprogramming bids by Oct. 15.
The project: staff said the county’s radio-tower project remains on track for operational completion by the end of the year, with a target of Dec. 15 for tower activation and a final operational check scheduled next year when foliage is at its worst to verify coverage. The county will fund reprogramming for existing agency radios using a line item included in the original $8,000,000 borrowing for the tower project. “That was built into all of the $8,000,000 that was originally borrowed. They had a line for subscriber support,” a staff member said.
Agency requirements and deadlines: staff said they began outreach to emergency responder agencies in July and sent follow-up emails in August and again in the week of the meeting. Agencies must provide the county with the make and model of radios, serial or identifying information, and a reprogramming bid so the county can estimate and reimburse the work. “We are giving them the deadline of October 15,” the administrator said during the meeting.
Compatibility and standards: the county emphasized that radios that comply with the P25 standard purchased in recent years should be reprogrammable and interoperable on the new system. Staff warned that agencies that bought radios not meeting the new requirements may need new equipment and that the county needs agency responsiveness to plan a reliable, interoperable channel order across the county. The county also said some neighboring counties (Grant, Iowa) and state-level WISCOM interconnections are relevant to interoperability planning.
Outreach challenges and next steps: staff reported that most agencies have replied, but some have not (the transcript named Viola and Lafarge as non-responding agencies). Staff said they will continue phone outreach and asked committee members to direct constituent agencies to contact county staff with their radio inventories and bids. The committee was told the project’s civil work is largely complete; one remaining tower had final work pending.
