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Commission receives update on new Chanute‑area tower and dispatch system, expects tower online in June
Summary
Jeff updated the Schmooze City Commission on installation of rack equipment at the new tower and dispatch center, training schedules and coverage maps showing 95% portable radio reception across Chanute once the tower is operational; dispatch consoles are expected to go live in August.
Jeff presented a status update on the city’s public‑safety communications project, showing photos of installed rack equipment at the tower site and dispatch center and outlining the remaining steps before full operations.
Installation and schedule: Jeff said rack equipment and structural work are complete at the tower (Hayden Tower will finish mounting equipment and the generator). The tower should be operational in June; dispatch consoles will go live sometime in August. Final acceptance and warranty steps are planned for September.
Training and operations: Jeff described staged installations and training plans so the dispatch center can remain operational during cutover: administrator training, operator half‑day sessions and onsite programming work. He said the training schedule includes roughly a dozen positions (about four administrators and nine operators in the earlier count provided to the vendor).
Coverage and interoperability: Jeff showed guaranteed‑reception maps for portables with the Chanute tower installed, indicating a 95% reception area in shaded coverage maps that focused on the city limits; he said the maps did not include another tower currently used (Buffalo Tower). He emphasized the project’s interoperability benefit, allowing local agencies to communicate more reliably across the state 800 system and with neighboring departments.
Commissioners asked about topography and small blank spots on the maps; Jeff said those gaps are typically due to terrain or tree cover and that mobile radios (in vehicles) will have greater range than the portable maps display. No vote was required; staff will continue acceptance testing, cutover and training preparations.
