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County accepts $1.03M federal award and outlines $10M plan to finish countywide P25 radio system
Summary
Solano County staff asked the board to accept $1,031,000 in federal Community Project Funding to support South County P25 buildout and described a phase‑2 expansion (estimated ~$10M) that would add Dixon and Rio Vista sites, replace legacy VHF over time, and require agreements with cities for revenue support.
County public-safety communications staff updated the Board of Supervisors on April 7 about the county's radio interoperability program and asked the board to accept a $1,031,000 federal award administered through the Department of Justice.
"Your board has been very supportive of public safety radio and radio interoperability over the years," the presenter said, describing a Motorola core, 15 communication tower sites, six dispatch centers and roughly 4,000 subscriber radios countywide. Staff said South County (Vallejo and Benicia) is on track to go live in summer and the award will support that work.
Staff outlined a phase‑2 plan to extend P25 to much of the remainder of the county, noting the anticipated need for two new tower sites in Dixon and Rio Vista, site improvements, engineering and equipment. The estimate given for the phase‑2 infrastructure build was roughly $10,000,000; staff said funding could come from an ARPA rollover, a county technology reserve and the federal earmark accepted at the meeting.
Tim (county staff) and Matthew Higdon (public safety radio manager) said the county expects ongoing user costs for subscriber radios and consoles; staff noted about 1,500 radios are designated for county users and that vehicle and handheld radios have a ~10‑year service life. A lease-to-own option from the vendor was presented as a way to smooth capital costs, with the tradeoff of higher net cost due to interest.
Staff said the plan includes reserving VHF spare equipment and pledging not to decommission the legacy VHF system until the P25 system is fully operable. The board voted to accept the federal award and authorize staff to execute licensing agreements and move forward with administrative steps required for the phase‑1 South County work.
