well here it is we let this pass us by come on nevada. we need to stop letting are radio systems update on us and spend days looking to fill in the missing parts
February 24, 2010 10:00 pm • By JULIE WOOTTON- Staff Writer(0) Comments
This map shows planned radio coverage in Elko County. The light green shows areas of the county where a new VHF system would provide the best coverage. The purple area is where the Nevada Shared Radio System would provide better coverage. The olive green area is where both systems would provide equal coverage. AECOM
Enlarge Photo
ELKO — Elko County may join the Nevada Shared Radio System, which will improve radio coverage for county agencies.
Commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to send the proposal to the county’s budget committee, which will look at financing options.
Joining the NSRS would cost the county $1.47 million initially and $189,415 in annual maintenance fees.
Walt Currier of AECOM presented a plan to commissioners and recommended the NSRS because it would provide better coverage.
“Looking at everything head-to-head, the shared radio system makes the most sense,” he said.
Currier also presented another option to commissioners — building a Very High Frequency P25 radio system. He said adding VHF channels isn’t a cost-effective solution.
“We didn’t want to put a Band-Aid on and have to replace it in a few years,” he said.
Building a VHF P25 system would initially cost $5.7 million and an additional $1.5 million annually in maintenance costs.
Several county commissioners said they were concerned about the cost of joining the NSRS, especially since the county’s budget could be affected by the state’s special legislative session.
“This is a huge undertaking,” Commissioner Sheri Eklund-Brown said of the proposal.
She said the county has looked at plans in the past from private vendors to improve radio communications, but they were more costly.
The Elko County Sheriff’s Office currently uses a conventional eight-site VHF system with a single channel and there are places in the county without radio coverage.
“It’s one channel repeated on multiple mountain tops,” Currier said.
The VHF system also supports other agencies such as the Carlin Police Department and the county’s juvenile probation, public works and highway departments.
“If something happens in Jackpot and Wells at the same time, agencies are competing for resources,” Currier said.
He said the current VHF system doesn’t allow for multi-agency response or narrowbanding.
The Federal Communications Commission has mandated that all public safety licensees update to narrow band radios by 2013.
Although the Elko County Sheriff’s Office’s radios meet the requirements, smaller agencies such as the Carlin Police Department would need new radios.
Commissioner John Ellison said he’s concerned about how smaller communities such as Carlin and Wells could afford to buy into the system.
“Carlin has got some difficult decisions in front of them,” Currier said.
Joining the NSRS would cost a flat rate of $395 per radio per year.
The county would also have to pay to upgrade the Central Dispatch Authority, which would cost about $241,400 during the first year and up to $76,000 annually.
The Elko County Ambulance Service is already in the process of moving to the NSRS. Elko County Fire uses the Nevada Division of Forestry’s system.
Several county departments currently without radio coverage, such as the assessor’s office, would also be included in the NSRS.
The NSRS includes 15 existing sites in the Elko area and six planned sites. The system also allows for communication with state agencies.
“For the most part, (NSRS) coverage is superior,” Currier said.
He said the county should still maintain the existing VHF system as an interoperability channel, because some agencies in surrounding counties will still use it.
“If something happens with the Nevada Shared Radio System, you’d still have a workable backup,” he said.
