Resident proposes GMRS repeater to expand emergency radio coverage in Ross County

Wes Williams, a local radio installer who said he works with commercial Motorola equipment, asked Ross County commissioners to consider permitting or hosting a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) repeater on Rocky Knob to extend public radio coverage across rugged parts of the county.

Williams said he owns commercial-grade equipment (an estimated $7,000 worth) and described GMRS as inexpensive for residents to use (licenses roughly $35 and no testing) and useful for hikers, search-and-rescue teams, event organizers and emergency response when cell coverage is absent. "It could even save lives," Williams told the board, citing examples where GMRS provided communications during disasters in other states.

Commissioners asked technical and operational questions about ownership, line-of-sight limitations, and whether a direct feed into 911 or county dispatch would be possible; Williams said it would not connect directly to 911 and that the repeater would be a public communications layer rather than an emergency dispatch channel. Speaker 3 recommended coordinating the proposal with the county's emergency management (EMA) director and county engineers and asked staff to check whether the county or American Tower Corporation holds the tower lease and what rental costs might be.

Board members said they saw potential value given low equipment cost and the public-use nature of GMRS, while urging an oversight plan and a clear operations pathway if the county were to permit or subsidize tower space. Commissioners asked Williams to provide technical details and directed staff to put him in contact with the EMA director and county engineer to develop a recommendation.

Next steps: commissioners instructed staff to determine tower ownership, potential leasing costs with American Tower Corporation and whether an EMA-led oversight or operations plan could integrate the proposed repeater.