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Council hears county plan to transfer radios, pagers to Centerville Fire; attorney review and training requested
Summary
A county public-safety consultant presented an interlocal agreement to transfer mobile and portable radios and pagers (equipment valued at about $85,000) to Centerville Fire. The town would take ownership and responsibility for maintenance; the council agreed to send the agreement to counsel and discuss it again at a work session.
The Centerville Town Council on Oct. 14 heard a county public-safety presentation on an interlocal agreement that would transfer radio equipment and pagers to Centerville Fire.
The presenter told the council the package includes three mobile radios, four dual-band portable radios, 14 single-band portables and 25 pagers and said the county purchased roughly $85,000 in equipment that would transfer to the town. "We're giving to the town," the presenter said, explaining the town would become the equipment owner and would be responsible for maintenance and replacement.
The agreement would carry non-monetary conditions, the presenter said: the town could not resell or transfer radios to another agency, and it must preserve the programming template and maintain an inventory keyed to serial numbers. The presenter said the county will continue to maintain the existing VHF system short term but plans to transition fire communications to an 800 MHz system and eventually sunset the VHF system.
Council members asked practical questions about tower upkeep and coverage inside large buildings and schools. The presenter said the county will carry infrastructure responsibility for the new repeater towers and noted that coverage with the new 800 MHz system will be strong but will include dead zones; he described the system design as intended to improve in-building communications.
The presenter asked that the town attorney review the interlocal agreement and requested the council place the item on a work session agenda for further review. He also outlined training plans, saying firefighters would come to scheduled sessions in the coming weeks to learn to operate the new radios.
The council did not formally vote on approving the transfer during the meeting; the presenter asked only that the agreement be returned after legal review and work-session consideration.
The council packet and the presenter's report will be shared by email with members for follow-up prior to the work session.
Next steps: council attorney review, placement on a work session agenda and planned training for Centerville Fire personnel.
