Pottawattamie County OKs $16.2 million Motorola contract to modernize public-safety radio system

Pottawattamie County supervisors voted to approve a Motorola Solutions agreement valued at $16,198,222 to upgrade the county’s public-safety radio and communications infrastructure and join the Iowa statewide interoperability system known as Essex. The board’s approval, made after a study session and recommendation from the county’s Public Safety Communications Tax Task Force, authorizes the chairman to sign a notice to proceed.

County staff said the project covers console upgrades at the 9‑1‑1 communications center and an emergency management contingency site, antenna and line replacement, microwave dish and waveguide replacement, and other infrastructure work. The plan also contemplates adding a tower on top of the courthouse and a new tower in Crescent adjacent to the Crescent water tower as part of a multi‑year cutover to Essex. "The timeline looks like 2 years out for that," staff said in the presentation.

Task‑force members and staff emphasized advantages to using one vendor to avoid scheduling conflicts and unclear responsibility for failures. As staff described it, completing the components individually could exceed $20 million; Motorola provided an adjusted quote that staff recommended accepting by the December 5 pricing deadline. "Motorola has offered a ... pricing discount" was noted during the presentation.

Financing was discussed with the county’s chief financial officer; staff recommended funding from capital project funds and bonds, with the purchase to be made in four installments over the next two years. "We'll probably go ahead and engage bond counsel now to get everything rolling so we can make sure we get our reimbursement date set," a county official said.

Supervisor (unnamed in transcript) moved to approve the Motorola Solutions contract and to authorize the chair to sign the notice to proceed. A roll call vote followed; Chairman Shave, Supervisor Jorgensen, Supervisor Miller and Supervisor Whitman were recorded as voting 'aye' and the motion carried.

Next steps include finalizing financing details during budget discussions and coordinating a two‑year parallel operations period while transitioning from the county’s current Orion system onto Essex. Staff said a detailed inventory of 9‑1‑1 hardware and warranties will be maintained going forward.

Authorities and legal references in the record are the county's contracting process and the task force recommendation; the agreement itself was described as a county purchase agreement with Motorola Solutions. The board did not detail all contract clauses in the public presentation; staff said bond counsel would be engaged to set reimbursement dates.