Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Public safety radio system gets $5 million for upgrades

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 19 May 2003 23:01:43 -0400

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 - 3:53:59 AM PST

Public safety radio system gets $5 million for upgrades
By Inga Miller, STAFF WRITER

MARTINEZ -- The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors allotted $5.2 million Tuesday
toward upgrades for the county's aging public safety radio system.

Signals fade out under ridge lines and in valleys. And the 25-year-old Sheriff's
Department network has failed at times, putting the public at risk, Assistant County
Administrator Scott Tandy said.

"There has not been any loss of life or property, but there have certainly been failures,"
Tandy said, where emergency workers have not been able to communicate.

The $5.2 million will pay for two new radio frequencies. They will reduce stress on those
already serving the Sheriff's Department, local fire agencies, ambulance services, the
California Highway Patrol and other agencies operating in the county.

"We are looking at this as a short-term fix that would span a period of six to eight years
and will ensure the communications system continues to function on a 24-hour basis without
break downs," Tandy said. "The second thing we are looking at doing is replacing it."

That would cost between $40 million to $60 million. And the county would have to find a
way of sharing costs with other agencies in the region.

Tandy called Tuesday's approval of the short-term improvements an "important step" toward
an eventual overhaul.

"The board obviously realizes communicating for public safety is important," he said.
"This is something we can't afford to have not work."

http://www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86~10671~1389963,00.html

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