Sawyer County hears $2.5M public-safety radio upgrade proposal, Draper tower proposed

The Sawyer County Public Safety Committee on the meeting heard an updated plan to overhaul the county’s public-safety radio system, a project county staff and the vendor estimate will cost about $2.5 million to $2.6 million and would add a new tower and equipment shelters to improve outdoor and in‑building coverage.

Committee members heard the technical and financial outline from the presenter, who described proposed co-location on BugTussle towers near Edgewater and Meadowbrook, use of radio station WOJB’s tower under a draft MOU, upgrades to Dairyland and Pipestone relay sites, and construction of a new, 250‑foot tower at the Draper landfill site to cover southeast Sawyer County. The plan also adds a proposed Flambeau site to address persistent coverage gaps; the county consultant characterized the Flambeau site as optional and said adding it would raise the total from roughly $2.5 million to about $2.6 million.

The proposal includes microwave backhaul to create a ringed network for redundancy, equipment shelters or outdoor cabinets at some sites, standby propane generators, site fencing and gravel access work, structural reviews for existing towers, and FCC licensing. The vendor gave a top‑level cost breakdown in the presentation: radio system equipment and installation, microwave backhaul, professional services and engineering, then towers/shelters and site civil work as the largest single expense. The presenter told the committee the radio and microwave equipment could be installed and activated in a few months once sites are ready, but civil work and regulatory approvals (archaeological surveys, NEPA reviews and FAA/other clearances) will stretch the overall schedule: initial site activations could begin in 2025 with completion targeted in summer 2026.

Committee members and staff discussed leases and operating costs for colocated towers. The presenter said recent public‑safety leases for existing towers generally ran from roughly $800–$1,000 annually on favorable terms, though some commercial towers have asked for $2,500; the committee was told lease escalators of about 3% per year are typical. County staff said the project fits within the county board’s earlier budget authorization (the presenter referenced the previously passed project budget resolution of about $2.825 million, including contingency) and that financing would likely be by bond later in the year; the committee cannot finalize financing until the county‑board and finance committee process is complete.

Members also discussed coordination with the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Tribal government and local law enforcement: staff said the tribe and LCO police have been engaged and that using WOJB’s tower is intended in part to improve coverage on the reservation and surrounding EMS/response areas. County staff and the vendor said they are developing draft MOUs/lease terms to present to tower owners for negotiation.

No formal committee vote to send the project to the county board occurred during this meeting; staff noted the committee’s normal course would be to forward the project to the county board for final approval and that the finance committee will revisit funding and bonding timing. The committee did not change project scope at the meeting.

"Here's the updated proposal," the vendor said while sharing maps and the cost summary, noting that adding the Flambeau location materially improves in‑building coverage in the southeast portion of the county (evidence in committee packet and presentation maps).

The committee asked for continued outreach and more detailed site surveys, structural load studies for existing towers, finalized lease proposals for WOJB and BugTussle sites, and refined contingency estimates before a county‑board decision.

Timing: staff and the vendor estimated that radio equipment installs could be completed within months on active sites, while building the Draper tower and completing regulatory reviews would likely push full countywide completion into summer 2026.