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Commissioners consider $38,000 radio purchase, eye Title 3 funds and Starlink to fix coverage gaps
Summary
County staff reported handheld radios were 'digitizing' and a Digicom quote for replacement radios was about $38,000; commissioners asked staff to produce a full quote for five radios and consider using available Title 3 funds (approximately $136,396).
Agency official (Speaker 2) told the board that handheld radios in parts of the county had been ‘‘digitizing,’’ a condition that makes the radios appear out of range of the county system and prevents reliable communications in low‑lying areas.
The official said they had a vendor quote from Digicom and that “the bid that I received was at 38,000,” adding there were $175 programming fees per radio. The official also said a two‑month field trial showed the Digicom radios performed better than the currently deployed units in their service area. The proposal included exploring Bluetooth connections to Starlink to extend coverage into canyon and low‑lying locations.
Staff reported the county had $136,396 currently in the Title 3 account, and the board discussed using some of those funds toward radios and the recently purchased sheriff vehicle. Commissioners noted that Digicom is a local service provider and suggested the board could consider a procurement‑policy exception because the vendor had been deal‑tested in the field. Chair (Speaker 4) asked staff to return a full quote for five radios, including the portion to be covered by Title 3 funds, at the next meeting.
No binding purchase was approved at the meeting. Commissioners instructed staff to secure a complete written quote for five units and to bring that information to the next Tuesday meeting so the board could vote with full price and funding details on the table.
