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Board tables decision on joint public-safety radio system; consultant seeks site at Nottoway Elementary for tower
Summary
Consultants and city/county partners presented a proposed 800 MHz, five-channel public safety radio system that would include school radios and GPS-enabled units. The board voted to table action and asked the county to meet with the board on ownership, access and site details before deciding.
The school board heard a detailed presentation on a proposed joint public-safety radio system shared by Southampton County and the City of Franklin, including a recommendation to place a 250-foot tower on property near Nottoway Elementary School to meet coverage and microwave connectivity requirements.
Cheryl Jiggots of CTA Consultants presented the system design and benefits for schools and public safety. "This system is gonna give us 95% coverage countywide," she said, describing a five-channel 800-megahertz design with redundant sites and microwave links. Jiggots said the school system's planned equipment — 55 mobile radios, 18 portables and seven school control stations — represents "an county investment of about $400,000 for all of this equipment for the school system."
Why it matters: The proposed system would provide inside-building coverage at schools, GPS for buses and immediate access to dispatch via dedicated school control stations; it also would connect sheriff, police, fire and EMS across the county. However, a critical site in the northern county (the Sedley site) proved expensive to lease; consultants estimated a commercial lease near $5,500 monthly, which they said would total more than $1.3 million over 15 years. The consultant proposed building a new 250-foot tower at an estimated cost of about $700,000–$800,000 and identified a potential compound location on a portion of the Nottoway Elementary property.
Board concerns and discussion: Board members and staff asked about RF (radiofrequency) exposure, ownership and long-term maintenance of a new tower, whether the county or city would own or lease the structure, generator and maintenance responsibilities, and whether the tower would later host commercial carriers. Jiggots cited FCC exposure guidelines and OET-65 compliance and said measured ground exposure would be "hundreds of thousands times lower than the maximum permitted emissions." She noted microwave dishes are narrow beams and that typical modern public-safety installations test for compliance.
Action taken: The board voted to table the item and ask the county to meet with the school board about ownership, memoranda of understanding (MOUs), and information-sharing arrangements before the schools make a decision. "We will not take any action on this matter tonight," the chair said after the motion to table passed.
Next steps and timing: Consultants said a decision is time-sensitive because full-foilage testing must be done in the April–September window; they recommended a decision by July 1 and an agreement by August to meet permitting, construction and testing schedules for a projected system rollout in 2026. The school board requested the county join a follow-up conversation to clarify ownership, access to data, and responsibilities for construction and long-term maintenance before the board considers approval.
