Owen County moves forward on expanded public‑safety radio upgrade, earmarks ARPA and other funds

Owen County commissioners and the county fiscal body agreed at a joint meeting to move forward with an expanded public‑safety radio upgrade intended to fix persistent coverage gaps for fire responders and to create a single interoperable system for fire, EMS and law‑enforcement channels. The commissioners and staff directed steps to advertise and begin contracting and identified a mix of ARPA, local grant and county funds to seed the project.

The upgrade under discussion would replace or overlay the county's current reliance on the state 800‑megahertz system with a locally controlled 700‑megahertz trunked system. Project documents presented during the meeting show a baseline “must‑have” option to resolve fire‑radio coverage estimated at roughly $801,000; adding law‑enforcement channels and broader interoperability raises the estimate to roughly $1.29 million. Terry (technical staff) described the $801,000 option as the immediate need for fire coverage and said the larger three‑channel option would provide maximum coverage, interoperability and local control.

The meeting recorded three funding items the county will use to begin work: $190,988.31 in ARPA obligations already filed for the radio project, a $100,000 LATCF (local community) allocation, and a proposed $75,000 from the future building fund (fund 4916) to be advertised for council consideration. Commissioners also identified the county EDIT fund (balance discussed in the meeting) as the likely place to cover remaining costs if necessary. Auditor Sheila confirmed the ARPA and LATCF amounts available for immediate use and said staff will advertise ARPA fund availability and proceed with procurement steps this month.

Terry, who reviewed technical tradeoffs, said the proposed three‑channel 700‑MHz trunked configuration gives “complete control of your own system” and would reduce the busy‑signal problems the county experiences when the state system is congested. He added that the system vendor's warranty and a suggested one‑year parts warranty are included in the price and that commissioners should budget a maintenance agreement afterward (estimates ranged from about $30,000 to $120,000 annually, depending on monitoring and service level).

Sheriff and emergency services staff emphasized that the most urgent gap is portable coverage for firefighters and first responders in remote and indoor locations. One presenter said the 800,000 option is “a must‑have” to address fire coverage now, while the larger, 1.29‑million option would bring the sheriff’s department and all 911 partners onto the same trunked system.

Commissioners instructed staff to (1) advertise the available ARPA funds and the LATCF allocation for the project, (2) work with county counsel and the vendor on a draft communication services agreement (CSA) to the vendor, and (3) return with a detailed draw schedule and funding plan. Sheila said the ARPA/LATCF combination provides about $291,000 immediately, enough to start engineering and initial vendor work through March; larger draws would be expected in May–June as hardware is deployed.

The county also heard from the 911 advisory board and public‑safety stakeholders; the 911 board recommended the three‑channel option after reviewing propagation studies and compatibility issues. Commissioners and the sheriff's office said the county should act quickly: vendor pricing has limited‑time holds and some vendor components have lead times that could affect the timeline. Staff recommended advertising in February to keep the project on a June–July completion track.

Next steps include formal advertising/obligation of ARPA/LATCF funds, issuing the draft CSA to the preferred vendor, bringing back a formal appropriation and draw schedule to the council, and working with the 911 advisory board on final technical decisions.