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Committee hears upgrades to public-safety communications, RapidSOS and WOJB tower work ongoing
Summary
Emergency management and county staff described ongoing upgrades to 9-1-1 dispatch tools, integration of RapidSOS with Axon body cameras, text-to-9-1-1 deployment and pending engineering for use of the WOJB tower.
Hector Repinski, Sawyer County emergency management director, told the Public Safety Committee that the county is moving forward on several public-safety communications upgrades, including RapidSOS integration, access to Axon body-camera feeds through that mapping service, and progress on text-to-9-1-1 deployment.
Repinski said RapidSOS “shows calls exactly where they're coming” and that the county has gained “access to put our Axon body cameras on that map as well,” allowing dispatchers and incident commanders to see officer locations inside buildings in real time. He said the county is working with AT&T, Intrado and local carriers to ensure text-to-9-1-1 functions correctly.
The committee also heard that county staff and outside vendors are negotiating placement of radio equipment on the WOJB tower. Gary from GenComp set specifications for the tower site and county staff are awaiting confirmation that the tower can accommodate the county’s equipment. Repinski said the county met in August with the sheriff’s office, county administration, GenComm and LCO (Tribal) legal representatives to discuss the site.
Why it matters: better location data and integrated camera feeds can shorten response times and improve coordination during active incidents. Repinski said these tools are free or already procured in their current form, but implementation requires coordination with carriers and tower owners.
Committee direction and next steps: Repinski reported that the county submitted a 2025 Hazmat grant to assist the Sawyer County Hazmat Team with equipment and held a special Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) meeting on hazard-mitigation funding and vulnerability assessment. The WOJB tower decision remains pending; staff will report back when GenComp and the tower owner confirm the physical and interference specifications.
The presentation included operational details about dispatch metrics and staffing; Repinski noted the dispatch center hired one dispatcher who is in phase two of training.
Ending: Committee members asked staff to continue coordination with the tribal government and vendors and return with confirmation of tower availability and final RapidSOS/AXON testing status.
