Athens County public safety departments will have increased communications because of updates and modifications to the communication systems.
Law enforcement and fire department radio systems have been updated throughout the past year to meet homeland security requirements of improved communications and safety concerns. The Ohio Emergency Management Office will share half of the cost with the county.
9-1-1 has unencumbered carry-over funds from the .125 sales tax that we receive
and now we are spending that money on the upgrade said Doug Bentley, chief of operations for Athens County Emergency Communication.
Upgrades in law enforcement have been finalized, at a cost of about $84,000 for 30 users. Users are any law enforcement entity that has a radio, whether it is a station or a squad car, Bentley said.
Fire department systems have about 300 users and were almost entirely renovated to use high-band systems in all departments, because high-band radios allow for more information to be sent. The upgrade to the fire department radio systems cost about $483,000, Bentley said.
Commissioners also approved additional funding of about $23,300 for the fire department to fix problems with the radio towers. The towers need to be modified to work with the new system.
The fire department upgrade will be done in June. The next phase of the project, which will begin this summer, is to upgrade the radio system for the Athens County engineer and the township trustees.
Also at the meeting, commissioners approved the hiring of a new 9-1-1 coordinator, Mason Cox, to be responsible for maintenance of equipment, such as databases and computers. The previous coordinator retired, Bentley said.
In addition, commissioners had a short public hearing to discuss floodplain policies, updated the language and clarified the rules and regulations, said Lenny Eliason, an Athens County commissioner.
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