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County to join 911 radio upgrade project; public works to sign interlocal and pay county share
Summary
Cowlitz County staff explained plans to join a regional 9-1-1 radio upgrade, pay about $123,000 of a $2 million project, and piggyback on Lewis County procurement to save roughly $40,000; commissioners authorized staff to continue legal review and proceed.
Cowlitz County Public Works reported that it is preparing an interlocal agreement with Calu[s] 9-1-1 (as referenced in the meeting) and DayWireless to upgrade the county radio system as part of a roughly $2 million regional project.
Sean Ravey, Public Works, told commissioners the county's portion of the larger radio project is about $123,000 and that piggybacking on Lewis County procurement reduced the county's expected cost by about $40,000. "Our portion alone was about, I think, $40,000 less because of the piggybacking with Lewis County," he said.
Ravey said the county currently uses older MTR 2000 radios and the upgrade will move equipment toward GTR 8000 units with automatic tuning, which will reduce manual tuning frequency. The gear will reside on radio towers maintained by 9-1-1 or DayWireless rather than relying on ground-based repeaters.
County staff said the upgrade is urgent because many parts are obsolete and some must be hand-made, leaving the county vulnerable to extended down-time. Staff proposed moving forward by joining the 9-1-1 contract, drafting an interlocal agreement, and submitting the agreement to county legal counsel for review.
Commissioners agreed staff may sign the interlocal after legal review, or bring the agreement back on consent for a Tuesday agenda if the board prefers. Public Works indicated funding is available in the department budget; staff asked what level of board involvement they should use for signature and were granted authority to proceed with legal review and execution options.
Ravey said construction and upgrade work will be coordinated with other agencies to minimize cost and that the county has one mobile repeater for low-valley coverage. No final board vote on the interlocal was recorded at the meeting; staff will proceed to legal review and return documents for signature if requested.
