Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners weigh $7,945 proposal to relocate jail radio repeater after generator failure
Summary
County operations staff recommended moving a Motorola repeater and antenna to the jail to eliminate interior "dead zones" that disable handheld radios during outages; a Motorola estimate of $7,945.81 was discussed and commissioners signaled support for placing a budget amendment on the next agenda.
Captain Matt Morris reported that the county's repeater on Water Tank Hill is tied to a generator that failed during a power outage, leaving interior handheld radio coverage inside the jail unreliable. He said a Motorola engineer recommended mounting an antenna at the jail and relocating the repeater to eliminate dead zones in the corrections facility.
"If you'll look, all the spots in yellow are are dead zones in the jail," Matt said while describing the coverage map, and added that the inability for corrections officers to use handheld radios inside the facility "is a major safety risk for our corrections officers, our inmates, our medical staff." Matt provided a vendor estimate of $7,945.81 to mount a new antenna, run coax and related installation work, and commissioners discussed funding the work through a budget amendment and bringing formal action on Tuesday.
Staff and commissioners also discussed whether replacement of the generator or moving the existing generator and its scrap value were viable options; several commissioners emphasized speed because recurring outages leave jail radios inoperable. The item will be returned to the regular meeting agenda for formal approval and any required budget amendment.
