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Committee approves police radio head-end purchase; recommends Selectmen approve fire radio upgrades
Summary
The committee approved buying the base head-end equipment and dispatch consoles for the new station and voted to recommend that the Board of Selectmen approve a separate $90,147.25 purchase to upgrade fire-department receivers and install a repeater at the water tank.
The Police Station Building Committee on March 6 approved the purchase of the base radio head-end equipment and dispatch consoles for the new police station and recommended that the Board of Selectmen approve a separate purchase to upgrade fire-department radio receivers and install a repeater at the town water tank.
Chic Langone, who performed the radio survey study for the project, summarized the bids. The base system — police equipment, three dispatch positions (furniture and electronics), and installation, warranty and testing — came in at a little over $220,000. Optional items in the bid package (new portable and mobile radios, a dual‑mode repeater to support analog and digital transmissions and other coverage items) would raise the total to about $327,000 if all options were selected.
Committee members moved to approve scope items 1 through 11 in the radio bid package, which the committee said will allow the contractor to begin work on dispatch consoles and the station’s head-end radio equipment. The motion passed by voice vote.
Separately, LW Bills (the vendor representing the town’s fire radio equipment) quoted $90,147.25 to replace the fire department’s receiver equipment and to install a repeater at the water tank to address known reliability issues with the existing fire alarm/box reception. Committee members said the fire radio receivers were nearing end of life and that a repeater at the water tank — rather than a tall tower at the police station — was the vendor’s recommended engineering solution. The committee voted unanimously to recommend that the Board of Selectmen approve the $90,147.25 expenditure to be funded from contingency.
Taylor noted the LW Bills quote has a lead time and will need to be finalized in writing; committee members discussed 90–120 day delivery estimates for the fire equipment. The base head-end purchase will be funded from the approved station budget line for communications; optional radios and future portable/mobile replacements can be added later if the committee and departments approve them.
