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Wichita council approves $2.7M-plus radio alerting upgrade for fire stations
Summary
Council approved the third and final phase of a fire station alerting and automated dispatch project, with staff recommending a contract to Purpose paid from remaining project funds (approximately $2.72 million) and multi-year maintenance options.
The Wichita City Council unanimously approved a contract to upgrade station alerting and automated dispatch systems for fire stations as part of the final phase of a multi-year radio communication project.
Fire Chief Tammy Snow told council the city’s station alerting equipment varies by station, is outdated and not standardized, and that a new system would speed emergency response and provide redundancy if part of the system fails. A staff screening committee interviewed vendors and recommended a system from Purpose, chosen because it offered off-the-shelf software and hardware that met functionality requirements.
Snow said the contract will be funded by remaining project funds ($2,720,000) and $55,805 from a separate fire radio and communications equipment project; annual maintenance for the vendor contract can be renewed up to four additional one-year terms, rising from about $38,870 in year two to $43,740 in year five. The law department reviewed the contract and the related bonding resolutions.
After brief discussion and no public comment, Mayor Lily Wu moved to approve the contract, authorize bonding resolutions and signatures; the motion passed 7-0.
City staff said the upgrade is intended to improve notification speed for firefighters and reliability of dispatch communications; implementation will include coordination with county emergency communications for system interoperability.
