Motorola Messed with Texas

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A cell tower project that launched in Comal County, TX in 2018, is still not complete, frustrating the commissioners who have been part of the Comal County Wide Radio System Project from the beginning. As the Herald-Zeitung reports, the endeavor has required the investment of both more time and more money, leaving many unhappy with Motorola.

“We should have had this radio system up and running a long time ago,” said Precinct 2 Commissioner Scott Haag. “I’m not happy with their customer service. We have frequency issues that we’re still dealing with that, the next change order for the towers in the western half of the county … they’re dragging their feet with that.”

“The cost is nothing we can really control,” said Haag. “But I have issues extending the project past the end of the year.” 

Escalating project costs are another source of dissatisfaction. The original proposal to upgrade the county’s wireless communications came with a $5 million price tag. Last week, the Commissioners reluctantly approved an extra $15,100 more for installations of Ethernet capabilities to the prime tower site, bringing additional costs up by approximately $1 million over the original budget. Even with a discount of $200,000, expenditures now stand at $5.681 million.

Haag said that he and Sheriff Mark Reynolds have had numerous meetings with Motorola to address the delays and push for a completion date. The current expectation is that the project will wrap up by the end of 2022.  “We stressed, heavily, that this has gone on way too long,” said Haag. “December 31st is too long — and I’m going to get started again on calling them [persistently] — and this time I’m going to be much harder questioning them than I have been.” 

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