Clark County Board of Supervisors Approves First Steps Regarding the County's Public Safety Communication Systems Project
Thursday, July 17th, 2014 -- 8:16 AM
-The Clark County Board of Supervisors approved the first steps of the thousand mile journey that is Clark County?s Public Safety Communication Systems Project.During the two hours of testimony and debating, the board heard from local police chiefs, fire chiefs, first responders and more from Greenwood, Loyal, Abbotsford, Owen-Withee, Curtiss, Thorp, Dorchester, Granton and even Pittsville, as they cover a portion of Clark County in emergency situations.
The general consensus between them all is that, even with the hefty price tag, which currently sits at over $4.6 million, something needs to be done with the county?s current system. Static, people not hearing one another, pages not being received and people talking over one another is just a few of the many issues the men and women face while trying to keep the communities safe.
It was mentioned that the county knew about the problem for the past 2 years, but things really started to go downhill when the state mandated that emergency services switch from wide band to narrow band. Many people asked why they couldn?t just make minor changes to the system to fix some of the issues, but the next questions brought up to counter that was; how many Band-Aids can we put on before the system is too far gone?
In the end, all the board members agreed that something has to be done with the system. However, putting in a $4.6 million system didn?t seem plausible as the county just doesn?t have the money. However, many safety officials at the meeting reminded the board members that, in some cases, the poor communication system could result in the death of someone and the county could face huge liability issues.
The board made a slight amendment to the resolution, approving it with 26 voting yes and 1 voting no, and then approved the resolution, with 22 voting yes and 5 voting no, for the finance committee to look at ways to fund either the entire project or parts of it. Whatever option the committee decides on will then be brought back before the entire board.
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