County will discuss law enforcement radio upgrades with town

At a May 2 work session the Warren County Board of Supervisors got a run down on a proposed upgrade to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office radio system.  Details on the proposed $1,229,565 upgrade came from the proposed provider, Motorola and Teletronics.

From left, Tetronics Butch Bryant, Motoroloa’s Gerry Boyd and WCSO Major Kahle Magalis. Photo/Roger Bianchini

The recommended system would not only improve the aging Sheriff’s Office radios, but provide improved integration with County Fire & Rescue, which has a nearly 10-year-old Motorola-based system.  Present for the discussion, in addition to Motorola and Tetronic representatives were Major Kahle Magalis of WCSO, Chief Richard Mabie of County Fire and Rescue and an observer from the Front Royal Police Department.

While fire and rescue is not looking at a major upgrade yet, discussion indicated that FRPD may be in about the same situation as the Sheriff’s Office in dealing with an outdated radio system with some glaring gaps in coverage and inter-departmental communications.  In fact, North River Supervisor Dan Murray suggested a joint purchase of the proposed system by both county and town law enforcement to achieve a better price than either would get individually. – “Makes sense to me,” Magalis replied; “We are looking into it,” Captain Kevin Nicewarner told us several days later.  The item was suggested to be added to the upcoming town-county liaison committee meeting of May 18.

Above, blue area indicates current coverage of about 50% for on-the-hip, handheld radios; below the projected 97% coverage with new system.

The potential cost of some upgrades to fire and rescue’s system to facilitate optimum interaction with the new law enforcement system was estimated at $350,000.

According to charts comparing current coverage and what the provider envisions being achieved without construction of any new towers, coverage for portable, on-hip radios would improve countywide from what appeared to be about 50% coverage to 97%.  Small coverage gaps would remain only in the extreme northeast and southeast, mountainous areas in Shenandoah Farms and the Browntown areas of Warren County.

And while mobile, in-vehicle units currently have better coverage than the on-hip units, at about 90%, new mobile units would raise that number to the same estimated 97% coverage as the new on-hip units.

Above, blue area indicates current coverage of 90% for mobile, in vehicle radios; below the projected 97% coverage with new system.

It was noted that if new towers were added into the equation to try and achieve 100% coverage, the cost would soar from $1.2 million to anywhere from $5 million to $7 million.  With the projected non-coverage areas being at only 3% in some of the county’s most remote areas that was not considered a cost-effective expenditure, Motorola-Tetronic engineer Scott Cameron commented.

Project engineer Scott Cameron addresses current coverage issues and proposed improvements. Photo/Roger Bianchini

In addition to info on the hand-held, on-the-hip units durability provided in a power point presentation, one Motorola-Tetronic official told county officials he had seen one “run over by a 2500-pound SUV and it kept working.”