Wells public-safety budget: fire department seeks phased radio upgrade and continued health-and-wellness spending

Fire department leaders told the Selectboard on Feb. 11 they plan to phase a multi-year replacement of radios and related truck equipment to ensure interoperability with neighboring agencies and modernize aging equipment.

Chiefs said tri-band portable radios — which allow communication across UHF, VHF and trunked 800 systems — cost roughly $9,989 each, and that a full first-phase package (portables, a repeater and mobile units for trucks) would bring the initial year’s appropriation request to between $177,000 and $261,483 depending on scope. "Individual cost for these radios are is, $9,989 a piece," the chief stated when explaining portable pricing. The initial total the department requested earlier was about $354,000; the town manager proposed phasing the project and placing roughly $177,000 into the CIP this year so the purchase could be split across two years.

Board members and staff discussed rising equipment prices (staff cited a roughly 12% increase over two years and cautioned that delays could push costs higher). Members reiterated the safety rationale: without tri-band portables and truck mobiles, crews can’t reliably talk to some mutual-aid partners and regional systems. "These guys do [understand this stuff]. It’s very complicated," one member said, urging attention to safety rather than price alone.

Separately, the fire department presented a health-and-wellness budget line of about $40,000 for FY27, covering cancer screenings and mental-health consulting previously paid with a $50,000 grant. Chiefs urged continuing the program even if the grant lapses: "We took part of that money and dedicated to, health and wellness initiative," a fire representative said, and the department reported high participation in voluntary services.

The board asked staff for a clear, line-item breakout showing exactly what equipment would be bought in each phase (portables, mobile units, in-vehicle repeaters, and site repeater), the number of units, and updated vendor pricing; members signaled willingness to pursue phased funding but asked for detailed documentation ahead of any appropriation vote.

Next steps: staff and fire-command will supply a detailed procurement and pricing breakdown showing phase 1 scope, unit counts and total cost for review before the board moves forward.