Public safety moves to update dispatch contract and accepts donated Starlink terminal for mobile connectivity

The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners approved a corrected pricing structure for the county’s priority dispatch contract and accepted a donation of a portable Starlink satellite terminal from the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs Association to support field communications.

Bob Shaklee of Public Safety told the board the priority dispatch contract pricing needed correction from a previous presentation: the vendor’s pricing is $95,500 per year, with a 15% discount for the first four years and a full price in year five. Shaklee said the amended figures still represented substantial savings and asked the board to approve the clarified contract pricing; commissioners voted to approve the contract.

Shaklee also presented a donation valued at $12,995 from the Cumberland County Fire Chiefs Association for a portable Starlink terminal. He said the terminal is transportable and can provide high-speed satellite connectivity to incident support teams and mobile communications units during incidents that degrade local connectivity. The county would be responsible for a roughly $65 monthly service fee; Shaklee said the county would cover that through existing department funding.

Commissioners thanked the fire chiefs and voted to accept the donation and approve the contract correction. Shaklee noted neighboring counties have seen positive results from similar equipment during large incidents and that the terminal will help keep response units connected when public demand or infrastructure damage overwhelms cellular networks.