If the Greene County E-911 Service Board has its way, law enforcement and emergency services in the Iowa community will soon see an upgrade in communications equipment. According to Raccoon Valley Radio, local officials have made a case that current communications are hampered by old systems that are unable to coordinate with each other. The Service Board would like the Board of Supervisors to approve construction of a 250-foot cell tower, along with mobile radios for all fire department, ambulance services, law enforcement, and additional county personnel.
It was the recommendation of the E-911 Board that a $3.8 million essential purpose bond would fund the project. Director Heidi Kuhl noted that, “The towers and radio equipment fall under the [Iowa state] code that is for essential county purpose, which means that those are essential items for the county that the Board can proceed with a simple hearing [followed by a majority vote by the Board].” The Supervisors agreed to draft a letter of engagement with Northland Securities to discuss financing for a new cell tower.
Sheriff Jack Williams described the current state of emergency communications and why he supports the expense of an upgrade. “We have no communication with anybody unless it’s using our cell phone which is hard to do when you’re fighting or trying to arrest somebody,” he stated. “And we do have the ability to switch back and forth from VHF to the new system, but that takes time to do, and you have to take your eyes off of what you are doing to look at your radio to do the switching. So it’s made an unsafe environment for law enforcement, fire [department] and EMS.”
The Board of Supervisors indicated that the matter of the new equipment would be on the docket for September’s meeting. As the source noted, while the Supervisors are prepared to move ahead with the $3.8 million bond, they will also explore the option of piggybacking onto existing Jefferson Telecom towers to potentially reduce costs.
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