County staff and a Motorola representative told supervisors on Oct. 27 that a local enhancement to the county'wide Essex public-safety radio system would improve portable and in'building coverage in western portions of the county and provide redundancy if the county'relied-on primary tower failed.

Staff described two earlier cost estimates: constructing a new ground'up tower at about $2.3 million, or installing equipment on the Clear Lake water tower at roughly $600,000. A more recent quote with time-limited discounts reduced the estimated total to "just under $1,700,000," staff said. The staff member noted a December 12 discount deadline on the current proposal.

The staff member said a portion of the project could be covered by E911 funds; E911 has about $400,000 available as a down payment in this year's budget. Staff and board members discussed financing options including using a central-purpose bond, tapping E911 fee revenue, or entering a municipal lease. "I will mention that E911 does have in their budget for this year, $400,000 a year mark for a down payment," the staff member said.

Ongoing maintenance and service costs were presented as another budgetary consideration. Staff reported projected maintenance-year costs beginning in year two at approximately $75,000, rising to about $87,000 per year by year five; the meeting record indicates those recurring costs would need to be addressed in financing scenarios.

Board members raised technical and operational questions: whether vehicle-mounted repeaters could be an alternative, how a local enhancement would behave if the primary tower failed, and whether existing county vertical assets (for example, the county's current tower or other water towers) could be upgraded instead of building a new tower. Staff and the Motorola representative said vertical-asset selection affects cost and coverage and urged analysis of available tower sites and coverage maps.

Examples from other counties were cited: recent catastrophic tower failures in Montgomery and Adair counties (attributed to tornado or high winds) and a multi'year rollout in another county (Floyd) that funded multiple towers and radios with a general-purpose bond. Those references were presented as cautionary examples underscoring the benefit of redundancy and thorough engineering review.

Board direction at the meeting: staff was asked to meet with county finance staff (named participants include Adam and Heather) to model financing scenarios (bond, lease, and E911 funding), to provide coverage maps comparing candidate vertical assets, and to convene affected jurisdictions or a special meeting if necessary. Staff and the Motorola representative also said they would explore leasing options and municipal-lease examples.

No formal action or vote was taken; board members asked staff to return with coverage maps, cost scenarios and recommendations before a final financing decision.