Committee approves $2.71 million plan to replace county 9‑1‑1 radio consoles to lock in vendor discount

Deputy Administrator Lookadoo told Lexington County committee members that the county plans to replace aging radio consoles at its primary and backup 9‑1‑1 centers and recommended approving the procurement now to capture a vendor discount.

Lookadoo said the current consoles are roughly 25 years old and reaching end of life; equipment and parts shortages have already extended some outages. Motorola offered a discount of $454,585.28 if the county executes the contract now, reducing the project from an estimated $3,054,000 to $2,710,354.78. The project would replace 32 consoles in total: 24 at the primary center and eight at the backup center.

"This is about a 3 this project at full cost is around $3,054,000... They have offered us a significant discount if we move forward with the project now," Lookadoo said. He told members the cost would be borne by state‑allocated 9‑1‑1 funds and would not affect the county general fund; staff proposed budgeting the expenditure in fiscal 2026–27.

Committee members asked about inclusion of municipal PSAPs and whether other jurisdictions could take advantage of the discount; staff said they would notify municipalities and coordinate with the vendor. After a motion and second, the committee approved proceeding to contract to secure the discounted price.

What happens next: Staff will finalize the procurement/contract and work with Motorola and interested local PSAPs on inclusion options; project planning anticipates equipment purchase and installation timed to avoid general fund impacts.