Finance committee approves change order for 911 radio system to improve interoperability with Lake Geneva, upgrade sirens

The Walworth County Finance Committee voted Thursday to approve a contract change order for the 9-1-1 center radio system replacement project to increase interoperability with Lake Geneva dispatch and to upgrade county storm sirens.

The change order, described in the agenda (pages 17–22), was presented as an addition to the ongoing radio replacement project. Chair Sheila Reif called for a motion; the committee approved the change order after a brief discussion.

Why it matters: Supervisors said recent complaints from Lake Geneva residents about multiple sirens going off made the interoperability and siren upgrades urgent for community notification reliability.

County staff said the vendor that maintains sirens for Lake Geneva and Delavan provided a quote and is ready to proceed once the county board authorizes the change order and Raycom, the contract holder for the radio system, administers the funds. Captain Newman of the sheriff's office told the committee, “We’re talking ASAP, but I don’t have an exact timeline. I will report back to you if you’d like.”

Committee members requested a progress update. Captain Newman agreed to provide timeline details and to include that information in the county’s Friday update to supervisors so all supervisors would receive the same schedule information.

Motion details: The motion to approve the change order carried.

What happens next: Staff said work will begin after county-board authorization and vendor scheduling; staff will report timing back to the committee and include it in the Friday update to supervisors.

Ending: The committee approved the change order and asked staff to return with a schedule; no specific start date was given in the meeting.