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Hardin County supervisors authorize emergency management to contract $313,850 paging upgrade after first responders report inaudible alerts
Summary
After testimony from fire, EMS and police chiefs describing frequent inaudible pages and delayed responses, the board authorized emergency management to contract a $313,850 paging/radio upgrade including a New Providence repeater; the purchase will proceed while funding options are finalized.
Mackenzie Burton, deputy director of Hardin County Emergency Management, told the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 29 that the county’s analog paging system is nearing the end of its useful life and that parts are no longer being produced. Burton said the vendor quote for an upgrade — which would add a New Providence repeater and improve county coverage — is $313,850.
“The quote is for $313,850, which includes a repeater for New Providence,” Burton said. She told the board the 9-1-1 joint service board has discussed and approved the system but lacks the funds to buy it outright.
Multiple first responders described practical problems with the current paging system. “You can’t make out addresses, can’t figure out where it’s going to be…sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t. It’s inaudible,” said Scott Williams, fire chief for New Providence, describing recurring failures that he said have persisted for years. Mitchell Paxton of Hubbard Fire and Hubbard Ambulance and Sean Davis of Mid-Iowa EMS gave similar accounts, saying pages often lack an address or clear incident description and that reliance on smartphone apps can add minutes of delay in critical cases.
Nick Asperaug, police chief in Eldora, also urged approval, noting the system controls warning sirens in some communities and that clearer pages are essential for coordinated emergency response.
County staff and vendors briefed the board on the project timeline and technical constraints. Burton said the New Providence site must obtain a new FCC transmission license; that licensing process takes about 12 weeks, after which ordered equipment could take two to four months to arrive. The vendor’s package includes a two-year warranty; annual maintenance costs were not yet specified.
Supervisors discussed financing options and agreed not to delay contracting while funding details are finalized. The board voted to instruct Emergency Management Coordinator Creighton to contact RC Systems and sign contract quote 45-0107001 so the 9-1-1 board can proceed. The motion passed on a recorded voice/roll call; supervisors directed staff to return next week with recommended financing — including general supplemental funds, a budget amendment, or, as a last resort, a public safety bond.
The decision follows earlier, larger-scale plans discussed by the county to move to a different system; staff said the current purchase is an upgrade intended to address immediate paging failures rather than a full replacement. The board’s action authorizes contracting but does not yet identify a final funding source; follow-up budget decisions are expected at the next meeting.
