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Board reallocates $280,000 to restore Primland tower equipment and switch to simulcast E‑911 system
Summary
The board approved a $280,000 reallocation from a planned ambulance purchase to fund Primland tower equipment and a countywide simulcast radio upgrade, aiming to eliminate dead zones and simplify public-safety communications.
The Patrick County Board of Supervisors approved a motion on March 9 to reallocate $280,000 from the capital expense line for emergency service vehicles to a capital improvement fund to restore equipment at the Primland tower site and implement a simulcast radio system for Fire & Rescue. Emergency Management Coordinator Scottie Cassell described the Primland Memorandum of Understanding allowing the county to reinstall radio equipment at Primland's tower and argued the simulcast system would let responders operate on a single channel without manually switching between towers.
Cassell told the board that prior studies in 2016 had concluded simulcast costs were prohibitively high, but updated work and in‑house labor lowered the price to $280,000. The board approved the reallocation unanimously. The action moves capital line 91200-8249 (ambulance) funds to 91200-8002 (tower capital) to cover equipment, installation and initial manpower costs. Cassell and staff characterized the project as the first step in a two-to-five-year communications improvement plan and asked staff to return with implementation timeline and procurement details.
