Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners prioritize sheriff mobile radios, pause on tower move pending technical review
Summary
Daniels County commissioners heard Motorola contractors say mobile radios for sheriff vehicles are the top priority, were warned the planned tower footing likely cannot support microwave links, and discussed using fiber or a lower pole for a siren; commissioners asked for a prioritized action list and scheduled onsite work.
Daniels County commissioners set a short-term priority this week on getting sheriff mobile radios installed and programmed after a technical briefing from contractor Brian, who said Motorola will be onsite to finish console work and program handhelds and mobiles. "The sheriff's mobile radios getting in the cars ... needs to be up on the priority list," a commissioner said.
Brian told the board the tower footing poured at the planned site likely cannot support the microwave 'last-mile' links the system requires, and that fiber would be a more reliable route for the county's radio backbone. "At this point the only real use case you guys would have for that sitting over there would be a siren," Brian said, describing how cable-length and microwave-geometry constraints make the current footing location suboptimal.
Commissioners discussed alternatives including moving the tower, planting a wooden pole for a siren to avoid FAA-height issues, or selling the existing tower if a fiber-first option proves viable. The board also noted $12,000 had already been spent on concrete footings, and agreed to pause further major spending until staff and the vendor can reconfirm site geometry and microwave feasibility.
As next steps contractors requested a single email thread with a prioritized list of action items so work can be scheduled around weather and county priorities. Brian told the board Motorola planned to spend several days onsite to install radios, program handhelds and complete related tasks; commissioners asked staff to provide the requested list and to prioritize sheriff vehicle radios first, followed by any siren work and the Flaxville equipment move if feasible.
No formal ordinance or budget transfer was adopted at the meeting; the board directed staff to gather technical follow-ups and cost estimates and to return with a timeline for any further capital work.
