By Andy Taylor
Montgomery County Chronicle – November 28, 2013
Submitted by Newz Group Clipping Service – December 13, 2013
One week after agreeing to not pursue a national grant that would improve radio communication within Montgomery County’s fire and ambulance services, county commissioners on Monday chose to seek that grant…but with numerous questions remaining to be answered.
Commissioners agreed to have the Montgomery County Rural Fire District #1 apply for a $648,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant made available throughout the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. If awarded, Montgomery County would be required to pay 10 percent of the costs, or more than $64,800.
The grant would make changes to the radio communications between the rural fire departments, city fire departments and most law enforcement agencies in the Montgomery County area by allowing them to broadcast on a digital UHF system as compared to an 800 megahertz radio spectrum. The grant also would allow for infrastructure to be created for erection of three additional radio repeat towers covering areas where radio transmission is now impaired. Those “dead spots” in radio transmission has long frustrated local law enforcement and first responders–an issue that was brought to light at Monday’s meeting.
Chad Russell, Cherryvale Fire/EMS Chief, said his department was largely operating without radio communication with the Montgomery County Rural Fire District during a vehicle wreck on U.S. 169 highway south of Cherryvale on Friday night.
“It was almost like the 1970s,” Russell told the commission. “We did not have any radio communication when we were dispatched from our station to the accidence scene. So, our first communication with the rural firefighters came when we arrived at the scene and rolled down our windows to talk to them.”
The problem with the radio communication stems from the lack of strong “repeater” towers that boost radio signals from one radio unit to another, he said.
Marty Smith, a member of the Montgomery County Rural Fire District #1 Dearing Division said the grant would go to great lengths to improve the flow of communication between first responders.
With this grant, “we would have one of the best communication systems in the state in terms of trying to talk from one person to another,” said Smith.
Smith was frustrated with the commission’s decision to not pursue the grant and appealed to the commissioners to reconsider their decision.
“Honestly, we need to move forward,” he said.
However, commissioner Leon Rau was adamant that pursuing the state grant would add up to wasted money. That’s because the State of Kansas is mandating a 911 communication system soon that may cause the digital UHF system to be rendered useless. Those new mandates are set to be released sometime in spring 2014, Rau said.
“We can go ahead and spend this money and risk it being wasted…or we can wait several months to see what the State of Kansas expects to do and then make a wiser decision,” Rau said.
Smith responded that the grant would make much needed radio equipment and infrastructure improvements to the communications system–thereby putting more agencies on the same level of communication.
Smith also strongly responded to Rau’s argument about the 911 communication mandates, also known as Next Generation 911, coming from the State of Kansas.
“Next Generation 911 has nothing to do with this communication grant,” said Smith, his voice raising over Rau’s arguments. “They are two entirely separate systems.”
Darren Felts, who serves as the rural fire district’s liaison to the county commission, said that even if the Next Generation 911 mandates did not incorporate the digital UHF equipment that would be purchased through the grant, much of that radio grant would be salvaged, resold, or used by other departments. The net loss of money if the mandates do not incorporate digital UHF would be about $14,000, Felts said.
That argument did not change Rau’s concerns about the grant. However, Rau eventually agreed to seek the grant after hearing commissioner Larry McManus and Fred Brown express support for it.
Commissioners said they were in agreement to seek the FEMA grant but revisit the issue once the Next Generation 911 mandates are announced.
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