Richland County radio system cutover set for Dec. 15; Yuba tower site will require a $250,000 change order

The Richland County Executive & Finance standing committee heard an update on the countywide radio system project at its meeting, where staff said most site work is underway and the transition to the new system is scheduled for Dec. 15 of this year. The administrator told the committee that “most of the frequencies actually now all the frequencies have been approved,” and that work is proceeding on courthouse antennas, servers and fiber at multiple tower sites.

The committee was warned that the Yuba tower site — which staff said posed difficulties in securing a location — is behind other sites and will require additional civil work, including a retaining wall. “It is not an ideal location. There will be a change order that will come to this committee for approval for a pretty significant amount, because they have to build, they're gonna have to build a retaining wall. It's gonna be pretty pricey,” the administrator said, estimating the change order at about $250,000 and noting it will draw from project contingency funds.

Staff also said fiber splice work is nearly complete at several sites and foundation work is nearly finished at the Yuba site, but the civil portion there could take “a couple of more months.” The county’s program manager told the administrator he has questions about some charges from Gencom and plans to seek clarifications from Gary at Gencom because some line items “don't necessarily make sense to us.”

Committee members asked for written copies of the technical reports and coverage maps; one supervisor requested the public-safety reports be uploaded to members’ iPads for review. No formal change-order approval was requested at the meeting; staff said they will return to committee with a formal request when the contractor’s pricing is final.

The administrator framed the timeline to completion and noted current risks: the Yuba site’s extra civil work and potential additional change orders from the prime contractor. Staff recommended continued oversight by the program manager and review of Gencom’s invoices before presenting any change orders for committee approval.

Committee members did not take a formal vote on construction funds at the meeting; they asked staff to provide the program manager’s clarifications and to circulate the monthly written report ahead of the next meeting.

The county’s next steps are to reconcile the questions with Gencom, finalize the contractor change order for the Yuba civil work, and bring the requested change-order packet to the Executive & Finance committee for formal approval.