Black Hawk County

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IowaGuy1603

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http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_fee7e28a-83cc-5555-9016-8cee7b46e1df.html

WATERLOO | The price for a new countywide emergency 911 radio system came in well below the initial estimate.

Members of the Black Hawk County Emergency Management Commission voted unanimously Thursday to pick RACOM Communications, of Marshalltown, as the vendor for the new digital communications project.

The $8.7 million cost was well below the $15 million estimate in 2013 when county officials unveiled plans to replace the system used by law enforcement, fire departments and other emergency responders throughout the county.

RACOM's proposal, which is up for approval by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, was chosen over bids from Harris Corp., of Lynchburg, Va.; E.F. Johnson Co., of Irving, Texas; and Motorola Solutions Inc., of Schaumburg, Ill.

Cedar Falls Fire Chief John Schilling, who spearheaded the selection process, said the result is a proposal that "far exceeds" the minimum standards specified while coming in 45 percent under projections.

"We've spent two and a half years getting to this point," Schilling said. "It's been a very trying time but a good result.

"It was a very competitive field," he added. "Everyone wanted our business, and they came in with their guns loaded."

County supervisor and Emergency Management Commission chairman Frank Magsamen said the proposal was a great value given the price and quality of the system.

"The end users, the stakeholders, will have a product that will work when they need it," Magsamen said.

The county's current 20-year-old EDACS 800 MHz trunked radio system leased from RACOM is on its last legs and won't be supported after 2017. Proposals were sought to replace the system that meets national "P25 interoperatibility" standards, which would let public safety agencies from different jurisdictions communicate effectively.

RACOM's proposal calls for the county to own the system outright. It utilizes five tower locations on existing leased or government-owned structures with the possibility one new tower would need to be built. The proposal includes new radios, if necessary, for all government users.

RACOM is using Harris Corp. communications equipment, which allows Black Hawk to tie into similar systems in Linn and Johnson counties. The dispatch center in Cedar Rapids will serve as a backup Black Hawk dispatch location if a disaster destroys the center in Waterloo.

Communities using the county's consolidated dispatch center will continue to pay the operating costs based on their level of radio use.

But the county Board of Supervisors agreed earlier this year to pick up the construction cost for the new system and budgeted to repay a $15 million bond issue over five years using a countywide property tax levy.

That 60-cent per $1,000 tax levy has already been certified for the current fiscal year and will appear on tax bills mailed in August. But Magsamen noted the supervisors can cut the levy amount in fiscal year 2017 based on the lower price.

A formal contract with RACOM would be drafted for approval this fall, with construction expected to take up to 24 months.
 

N0ZJT

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Oelwein, Iowa
License for the Black Hawk P25 simulcast system was granted a couple weeks ago. I haven't heard anything on the air yet.

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