Ravalli County commissioners on Tuesday approved a purchase of general site equipment and microwave backhaul to expand the county radio backbone and deploy one simulcast channel, with staff and commissioners saying they will seek partner cost-sharing before building additional channels.

The vote authorizes the county to buy the equipment described in a quote from Gold Communications Services (GCS) that funds the backbone and one simulcast channel for county dispatch and fire communications. County staff and the vendor told commissioners the site- and microwave-level equipment is a fixed cost regardless of number of channels deployed; simulcast radios and per-channel equipment are added per channel.

County staff and the GCS representative described the system as a “voting and simulcast” architecture with receivers at Gold Creek and the Fairgrounds and with the courthouse site acting as a receiver. County staff said the proposed build will improve both “talk-in” and “talk-out” portable radio coverage in valley and canyon areas and that the initial deployment will migrate three channels eventually but the board directed staff to start with one channel and the backbone build.

Commissioners discussed whether partner agencies should contribute to the incremental channel costs. Commissioners said Hamilton Police Department and local fire districts would be natural partners; commissioners and staff agreed it made sense to start with a single channel for county law enforcement or a shared fire channel so partners could evaluate improvements before paying their share. Staff said one channel simulcast plus general site equipment would not exceed $320,000 in the county’s estimate after accounting for previously approved funds.

Commissioner discussion highlighted operational trade-offs: simulcast channels cost substantially more per channel than standalone repeaters but can significantly improve portable radio coverage in canyon and valley areas, reducing missed pages and delayed responses. Commissioners asked staff to seek proportional contributions from fire districts and municipalities; staff said they have prepared spreadsheets with 2023–24 call-volume shares to propose proportional asks to fire districts.

The motion approved by the board directed staff to proceed with purchase of the general site equipment, microwave links and one simulcast channel (law or fire as scoped in the GCS quote) while excluding the second law channel in the current quote and seeking partner contributions for additional channels. The board authorized procurement not to exceed the quoted totals after accounting for the county's previously approved $92,000 advance.

Commissioners and staff noted funding for the purchase would come from the county’s repeater-site fund and related capital accounts; staff warned the purchase will substantially reduce the repeater-site fund balance. Commissioners said they want to test the system with deputies and firefighters before expanding the simulcast footprint.

The board adopted the motion by voice vote. The county will report back to the board on partner outreach and any further procurement steps.

Ending: Staff will begin contracting with Gold Communications for backbone and microwave equipment and deploy one simulcast channel; the board asked for updates on partner commitments and will revisit additional channels if other agencies agree to contribute.