Oconto County Board OKs upgrades to emergency radio system

A long-awaited upgrade of Oconto County’s emergency radio system is being funded after a series of votes on Nov. 10 by the Oconto County Board of Supervisors.

“We have been working on this since I got here,” Emergency Management Director Jon Spice told the board. “It’s a long time a-coming.”

The largest expenditure is a $1.478 million contract to replace the current infrastructure equipment for the radio system that enables law enforcement, rescue and other emergency services to talk with each other. The contract is with Motorola Solutions, with Baycom continuing to service the system.

“The last time this was upgraded was in 2006. When that stuff was installed, they gave us seven to 10 years of actual service, so we’re past the useful service life of that equipment,” Spice said. “It is still working OK, but I imagine it’s just a matter of time before we have some sort of catastrophic failure. … Being that this is life safety equipment, we want to make sure that we stay on top of it.”

The funds were included in the 2022 county budget and will come from an established radio upgrade fund. Spice said the time is now to purchase the equipment, with a price increase expected early next year.

The board also authorized the purchase of portable radios for sheriff’s department and other emergency services for $182,312.97, to be funded out of the county’s allocation under the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

Sheriff Todd Skarban said technology has advanced since the current radios and infrastructure were installed 15 years ago.

“These radios work really well in basements of houses, and we can get out in metal buildings and that type of thing,” Skarban said. “That’s the kind of safety that we need for our staff and my teammates when they’re out there dealing with dangerous situations.”

Finally, the board approved contracts for two new emergency radio towers that county officials said would improve communication between dispatchers and deputies on the road in remote areas of the county.

Finish Tower, of Hiawatha, Iowa, was awarded the low-bid contract of $652,472 to erect a 330-foot tower at the county highway shop in the Town of Mountain.

Daniels Construction, of Madison, received the contract of $363,935 to build a 199-foot tower at the county courthouse in Oconto.

While the Mountain tower will be a traditional radio tower with guy wires, the courthouse tower will be a monopole, “so it’ll kind of look like a gigantic flagpole,” Spice said.

County Administrator Kevin Hamann said the current radio tower at the courthouse is 120 feet high, so the new tower is expected to greatly improve coverage.