LUCAS — A new 300-foot public safety communications tower in a village with less than 500 people will provide federal, state and local benefits.
That’s the view of Richland County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jim Sweat, who has helped lead a digital communications conversion and upgrade throughout the county that began almost three years ago.
The latest step came a couple of weeks ago when the switch was turned on at the new tower at 300 S. Union St. in Lucas, a site that will host a ribbon-cutting event Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m.
Sheriff Steve Sheldon will be joined by state, county and local officials at the ceremony, Sweat said.
“This project is a great example of state, county and local government working together in partnership to increase public safety to the entire region by providing enhanced radio communications to first responders,” Sweat said. “The tower in Lucas is just the last phase.
“When that was turned on for the public safety side, the increase in coverage, both primary and redundant, improved exponentially.”
Sweat said the new tower provides connectivity beyond county borders, including Knox and Ashland counties.
“It’s not just deputies and fire/EMS personnel in the area,” he said. “It’s ODOT, ODNR, if there is a game warden working in the area who needs assistance, folks with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District.”
It could also benefit members of the U.S. Marshal’s Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force who may work in the area. Task force members also use the MARCS system, he said.
“This is not just a Lucas project. It’s not just a Richland County project. It’s a whole region project,” Sweat said. “When the general public looks for an example of government working together, this (Lucas tower project) included everyone … state, county, township, village … This is a true win-win for the public.”
It’s the culmination of process that began late in 2019 when county commissioners approved a $1.5 million Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCS) digital radio system to improve communication and cooperation among township fire departments — and also increase reliability.
“It really goes back to when we sat down and realized going to MARCS was going to be a good fit for the county,” Sweat said.
That effort, largely involving township fire departments and the RCSO’s 9-1-1 dispatch center, replaced the former VHF fire radio system, installed in 1990, that had become obsolete.
Township fire departments around Richland County individually applied and were authorized about $550,000 in total grants through the state fire marshal’s office for equipment they needed for the upgrade.
That step came as American Electric Power agreed in the spring of 2020 to allow the county to use its 350-foot tower north of Shelby, which saved about $800,000 in the digital emergency radio conversion.
It became one of three MARCS-operational towers then in the county, including one on Ohio 430 north of Mansfield and one on Garber Road in Bellville.
The next step in the improvement process came online in October 2021 when the county’s new 9-1-1 communications center at the Peoples Center in Madison Township was opened.
That work began in late 2019 when commissioners approved spending $573,281.60 in capital funds along with another $150,000 from the RCSO.
Plans for the new $671,500 tower in Lucas began in 2021 when commissioners approved funds for engineering and design, replacing a 90-foot tower with VHS equipment.
A $400,000 grant through the state’s capital budget was obtained for the project with the remaining funds from Richland County’s capital budget and available RCSO funds.
“There are several sources of funding in this project,” Sweat said, “including MARCS donating about $300,000 worth of equipment.”
Plans for the tower include a sublease with Verizon Wireless for cell phone and broadband services.
“There are a lot of moving parts on that effort,” Sweat said. “We have been in communication with Verizon and plans are moving forward. I just don’t have a hard timeline on that yet.”
