County may upgrade emergency communications system
Marion County commissioners Tuesday gave Mark Grabar, radio communications consultant, authority to solicit bids for equipment for a total upgrade of the county's emergency communications system.
Michele Abbott-Becker, director of communications and emergency management for the county, said $90,000 is already encumbered in the 911 Fund for such purchases.
Grants for such purchases are not so readily available as they had thought, Abbott-Becker and Grabar said.
This project would be the first phase of an updating of the backbone of the system, Abbott-Becker said.
It would be done on a 25/75 cost-share basis, with the county's 911 Fund paying three-fourths of the cost and local police, fire, and/or emergency medical service departments paying the other 25 percent.
Licensing of software to handle the entire county would also be included in the purchases as proposed, Grabar said.
Sheriff Lee Becker's computer system needs an upgrade, too, commissioners were told. A repeater for UHF band transmission is needed on the north side of the county, and the one near Hillsboro needs to be upgraded or replaced, Grabar said.
The console in the Dispatch Center in Marion also needs to be upgraded, as does the backup dispatch system in Hillsboro, according to Grabar.
The whole system needs to be switched over to UHF, he said. This would include hand-held units and radios on fire trucks.
Abbott-Becker said a new or used repeater could be installed at Hillsboro, or Hillsboro could be brought onto the UHF system.
The sheriff's department also needs a new tower site, Grabar said. One or two possible sites have been identified, he said.
A repeater at Tampa will also be needed.
All public safety personnel — fire, police, and EMS departments — will be able to communicate with each other with such an upgraded system, Sheriff Becker said.
There should be many fewer "blank spots" in the county, spots where no one can communicate "to or from."
Commissioners also approved expenditure of about $5,659 for a new computer for Abbott-Becker. The alternative was to spend $3,200 to $3,500 to fix the six-year-old one she now has.
Licensing costs will be shared among Abbott-Becker's office, the sheriff's office, and another office. This purchase, too, will come out of the 911 Fund.
"Getting a new one is a better idea," said Commissioner Bob Hein.
There will be a redundancy, back-up feature in the new computer that her current computer does not have, Abbott-Becker said.
The new machine is to be purchased from Great Plains Computers & Networking, Marion.
Commissioners also adopted the new Emergency Operations Plan for the county and approved purchase of 33 copies of the plan for distribution to county personnel, at $45 per copy. A consultant will provide the copies, Abbott-Becker said.
Commission Chairman Howard Collett presented Abbott-Becker with a certificate from the Kansas Emergency Management Association.
Nine members of the Marion County Emergency Management Board of Directors, along with Sheriff Becker, attended Abbott-Becker and Grabar's portion of Monday's meeting.
