MANSFIELD — American Electric Power has approved Richland County’s usage of its 350-foot tower north of Shelby, which will save about $800,000 in the move toward a new county-wide digital emergency radio system.
Richland County Sheriff’s Dept. Maj. Joe Masi and Capt. Jim Sweat shared that news during a meeting with commissioners on Tuesday morning.
AEP’s decision cuts by more than half the cost of the Multi-Agency Radio Communications System digital radio system conversion, which will improve communication and cooperation among law enforcement agencies and township fire departments.
The original proposal was for $1.5 million, including $800,000 for the county to build its own tower in the northern part of the county. The existing AEP tower is near Ohio 61 and Dinninger Road.
Commissioners have set aside $775,000 in their 2020 capital improvement budget for the project, which would include $300,000 for equipment and $124,000 for three back-up repeaters.
Once the Shelby tower is operational, Sweat said, authorities will determine how best to proceed with a tower in the southern part of the county in the Lucas area.
The MARCS system currently has three towers in Richland County, located at 3240 Ohio 430, one mile north of Mansfield on Ohio 13 and 6469 Garber Road in Bellville.
Township fire departments around Richland County individually applied and have been authorized a total of about $600,000 in grants through the state fire marshal’s office for equipment they will need for the upgrade.
The $600,000 represents about 20 percent of the $3 million statewide grant.
MARCS, which has existed since 2000, is used throughout Ohio and the county is able to purchase radios at a discounted rate via the state’s procurement office.
During a meeting in December, Madison Township Fire Chief Ron Luttrell, who chaired the county’s technical advisory committee on the issue, told commisioners the change to MARCS from the current VHF system would increase coverage and reliability and also improve the ability of departments to communicate with one another.
The current system was installed in 1990. The new communications system should be operational this fall.
Also on Tuesday, commissioners approved working with Finnegan Construction of Shelby to work on the design of the planned upgrade, renovation and relocation of the sheriff’s department 9-1-1 dispatch center within the Peoples Community Center.
