Coffey County updates towers and school-bus radios, authorizes hiring a communications technician
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Summary
Emergency management staff reported progress on tower construction at Leroy and upcoming Lebo and Gridley sites, and said crews have installed radios and base stations in several school districts; commissioners authorized a hiring advertisement for one communications technician to fill vacancies.
Emergency Management staff briefed the Coffey County commission on the county's radio and tower projects and secured approval to advertise and hire a communications technician.
Martin Ernst (Emergency Management staff) told the board that tower work is underway in Leroy, where piers and the shelter base are poured, with Lebo expected next and Gridley moving through the permit process. He said weather and holidays may slow progress but the teams hope to wrap key tasks by mid-December and begin Gridley after the new year. On radios, staff reported installing seven radios and base stations in Waverly buses and schools, six radios and handheld devices for Lebo, and technicians were installing equipment in Burlington with 13–16 buses and multiple base stations planned.
The chair requested a 10-minute executive session under the Kansas Open Meetings Act to discuss a pending job vacancy and non-elected personnel; the commission entered executive session and afterward authorized the Emergency Management Director to advertise and hire one communications technician to address upcoming vacancies.
No construction cost figures or a project-wide budget were included in the meeting transcript. The record shows work is progressing in phases and that the county is staffing to support ongoing deployments.