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Sheriff outlines radio tower plan and seeks 7-year Motorola lease to replace radios
Summary
Sheriff's office asked commissioners to approve a 7-year lease with Motorola to replace aging radios and updated the board on a multi-site county radio tower project; commissioners approved the lease and heard details on sites, fiber, and project funding.
The Vigo County sheriff’s office asked commissioners to approve a seven-year lease with Motorola to replace aging patrol radios and provided a progress report on a county radio-tower project that the sheriff said is already underway.
“Since the time that the county signed the agreement, the county has received accolades throughout the state of Indiana,” said Jeff Fox of the sheriff’s office, who also briefed the board on technical and logistical steps already taken. Fox said three tentative tower sites have been identified and cleared by landowners and Motorola, Duke Energy confirmed no power-delivery issues at the sites, and joint fiber access is available at each location. "The project is underway," he said.
The commissioners approved the 7-year Motorola lease to replace a portion of the fleet. Fox explained the lease approach is incremental: rather than replacing every unit immediately at a roughly $7,000-per-unit cost, the office will replace radios in batches. As an example, Fox said the lease in this cycle would cover about 49 radios for roughly $331,000, a number he described as approximate.
Fox also said Motorola will provide initial backhaul fiber connections as part of the contract; after one year the county will accept and maintain that infrastructure. To provide independent oversight of technical deliverables, Fox recommended engaging an outside consultant; he said Motorola agreed within the project budget to allow such a consultant and suggested Ritter Strategic Services as a possible reviewer.
Commissioners pressed for clarity on funding and scheduling. Fox said some payments are tied to project milestones rather than a fixed calendar schedule and that the county has encumbered local income tax funds and expected disbursements to meet contract obligations. "I can assure you 100% ... there's definitely funding available," Fox told the board.
Next steps: commissioners approved the lease and directed staff to continue coordination with Motorola, the county attorney and the auditor’s office on site plans and purchase milestones. Fox said he will provide written progress reports to the board and the auditor.
