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Houghton County approves nearly $79,350 in 911 equipment purchases to address pager and radio issues
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Summary
The Board approved 911 Advisory Board recommendations to buy radios, dual-band pagers, batteries and Premier 1 onboarding (totaling about $77,350 one-time plus an $8,007.24 annual maintenance line), all to be paid from 911 funds to address local pager reliability problems in Tamarack and Hubbell and support first responders.
The Houghton County Board of Commissioners on April 11 approved purchase recommendations from the county 911 Advisory Board to update communications equipment used by school resource officers, fire departments and dispatch-connected devices.
Under Sheriff Jon Giachino presented four items the 911 Board had approved and said the costs will be covered from 911 funds. The purchases include:
- One portable 800 MHz radio for a Jeffers School resource officer — $7,500. - Seventy dual-band pagers to address pager issues in Tamarack and Hubbell — $49,983.65. - Eighty APX 4000 batteries for fire departments — $9,658.40. - REMC1 onboarding for Premier 1 for county police and sheriff cars — one-time fee $12,188 and an annual maintenance/support cost of $8,007.24.
The board voted to approve the purchases; minutes record the motion carried with Commissioners Keranen, Janssen and Britz voting yes. The minutes indicate funding will come from the county’s 911 account; no additional county general-fund appropriation was recorded.
Why it matters: the purchases were described as responses to equipment failures and pager issues that affect timely notifications to emergency personnel. The board’s approval signals near-term replacement and support for radios and pagers used in the county’s emergency response network.