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County to explore hosting regional VHF repeater; commissioners ask for MOUs and legal review
Summary
Emergency communications staff proposed hosting a VHF repeater in the county radio bunker to replace a site Franklin County must vacate; staff said the Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club would operate installation and that costs would be recovered through nominal fees from four counties.
Adam McKinney, chief technology officer and emergency communications director, told commissioners on Jan. 16 that Franklin County owns a VHF repeater on Sedgwick Mountain that the military division asked to relocate. McKinney said Bannock County owns a radio bunker on the mountain and has space to host the repeater and related equipment.
“We would seek to get an MOU with the 4 counties,” McKinney said, describing a plan that would add Franklin, Bannock, Bear Lake and Caribou counties as partners and involve the Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club to perform installation and maintenance. The club would be required to demonstrate insurance, bonded tower-climbing capability and pay relocation costs, McKinney said.
McKinney said the existing arrangement has four counties sharing a nominal lease fee (he cited $150 in the meeting record), and that Bannock County’s power cost would be offset by continuing to collect that fee from the four counties. He said the move would likely not occur until midsummer and would require each county commission to approve an MOU.
Commissioners asked McKinney to route proposed MOUs through county legal and said they supported staff moving forward to draft the agreements and seek partner approvals. McKinney said staff would coordinate with legal and the other counties and bring an MOU to the board for signature when ready.
There was no vote at the Jan. 16 meeting — commissioners asked for legal review and for staff to draft formal agreements.
