Centre County approves $9.62 million DOT grant application to upgrade regional 9-1-1 radio system

Centre County commissioners unanimously approved a $9,623,553 grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation to upgrade the county’s 9-1-1 radio core and interconnect the radio systems of four neighboring counties.

Norm Spackman, representing Emergency Communications 911, told the Board the project would "leverage the existing Centre County Motorola Radio Core and interconnect the other four counties to our core." He said the work would upgrade the radio core, supporting infrastructure and the radio consoles in dispatch centers and described the shared grant total as $9,623,553, with the funding described in the request as State $9,623,553 for the period of May 14, 2026, to May 13, 2027.

Commissioner Steven Dershem asked when consoles and the radio core would 'age out.' Spackman said the equipment is currently aging and that the current contract is set to expire in 2030. Sid McConahy, a meeting guest, said the shared system "would reduce the annual maintenance costs" and added there is "$680 million total of funds available for this grant." Spackman also noted prior CAD updates were grant-funded and "have saved our taxpayers already millions of dollars."

The Board voted unanimously to approve submission of the grant application. The motion to approve was made by Commissioner Amber Concepcion and seconded by Commissioner Steven Dershem.

Next steps: the county will proceed with the DOT grant application and, if awarded, would begin planned upgrades tied to the grant timeline. The public minutes do not record details about required local matching funds or procurement steps; those details were not specified in the public record.