Dispatcher Shelia Reynolds takes calls at the dispatch center of the Medina County Sheriff’s Office in Medina on Monday afternoon. (KATIE ANDERSON / GAZETTE)
Medina County Sheriff Tom Miller said time is running out for the county to upgrade its emergency communications system.
Miller has presented to county commissioners a plan to upgrade the six public safety radio communications towers in the county.
Miller asked the commissioners last week to hire an emergency communications consulting company, Mission Critical Partners, of Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, to conduct a $25,000 “propagation” study and evaluation of the system to find out where the radio coverage is weak and how to improve it.
Sheriff Tom Miller
“One advantage with going with a consulting firm is having their expertise to review bids and find out what we absolutely need and don’t need to keep the cost down,” Miller said. “What we’re looking for is good coverage for first responders inside buildings and on the ground and to improve coverage for car radios and handheld radios.”
He also said he wants to improve interoperability with surrounding county agencies.
County commissioners agreed to split the cost of the study with the Sheriff’s Office and pay $12,500.
“The money is coming from other line items in the county’s general fund where there is a surplus,” county Administrator Chris Jakab said.
The other $12,500 will come from the sheriff’s Furtherance of Justice Fund of $41,683 per year.
Jakab said the preliminary estimate of the entire project was less than $500,000, but that could increase following the study.
One of the six public safety communications towers in Medina County is at 980 Branch Road, Medina. County Sheriff Tom Miller has said the county need to upgrade the radio system and improve emergency communications. (KATIE ANDERSON / GAZETTE)
“Part of the process of the consulting is to better identify the scope of the project, and once that scope is clearly identified, it will be easier for cost estimates to be identified,” he said.
Miller said the department is using an analog radio system that hasn’t been upgraded since 1997. He said they need to switch to digital to become P25 compliant — a set of standards for digital radio communications for public safety at the federal, state and local levels.
“It’s a standard all law enforcement agencies will have to meet within the next five years,” he said. “There’s a lot of P25 equipment in the county, but we need the towers to be compliant.”
Miller said the 11 fire departments and six law enforcement agencies within the network of the six towers are using some equipment that isn’t manufactured anymore or supported by the manufacturer.
Russ Fisher, a communications technician for the Sheriff’s Office, said once the department makes the switch to a digital system, the maps to locate people when 911 calls come in will be more accurate.
“The maps will be more precise and radio communication will be a lot clearer,” he said.
With 11 fire departments represented, Miller said the cost of the project could be lowered through Assistance to Firefighters Grants.
“It may be possible for the fire departments to secure money for the project through those grants, but those are the only ones I can think of right now that would have potential with this project,” Miller said.
Miller said he hopes the consulting company will have the study done by the end of the year.
“From there, we’ll look at the cost and see how and when the project can begin,” he said.
Contact reporter Katie Anderson at (330) 721-4012 or kanderson@medina-gazette.com.
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