More than 60 police officers, firefighters and emergency medical service personnel gathered Thursday morning at the county courthouse to learn about funding sources to upgrade to digital narrowband communications.
William F. Hanley, senior economic development specialist for U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-17, held the meeting in the commissioners boardroom about ways to obtain grants and loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase the new equipment.
Also on hand were USDA Rural Development area specialist Charles P. Garnett and Rural Development specialist Kimberly J. Loftus to explain what funding may be available and the application process. Schuylkill County Communications Director Scott D. Krater and Green's Communications President Robert C. Green provided information on the technical side of the new digital-based communications system. Green's Communications is the manufacturer's representative for Motorola Solutions Inc., which the county contracted with for the public safety communications system upgrade at a cost of $16,338,145. The funding comes from a $21 million bond issue by the county commissioners in October 2012.
Krater said the system is in testing mode. He explained that the coverage testing in the area will be done in April and May when there is foliage on the trees.
The deadline set by the Federal Communications Commission for the narrowband systems to be operating is Dec. 31, but the county was able to obtain a waiver to extend the deadline to Oct. 31, 2014. However, Krater plans to have the system up and running by June 30.
The FCC has mandated the upgrade to narrowband county radio frequencies, which allows for a system to accommodate more radios and also improve the quality of radio transmissions and allow for additional options in emergency communications, including encryption of signals among police and other emergency personnel.
"The equipment that is installed currently is our fixed network equipment - base stations, antennas, lines to the tower sites," Krater said. "The system should be up by the end of June, so what that means for the police currently is that all the departments are now analog, and those who are looking into narrowband radios won't have to do that yet."
Green brought one of the new portable radios and was in communication with people using the same portable equipment at the Gratz fairgrounds and McAdoo. The demonstration showed the clarity of the new system. Green said the cost of the radios is $3,900 each, adding that the list price is about $7,000.
Hanley said the USDA funding would come through its Community Facilities program.
A police officer asked if there are other options rather than going digital, and Krater explained that there will be analog channels available - PD North and PD South - for those departments who do not change over to digital at this time.
Krater pointed out that if one police department goes to digital and another stays with analog, there will still be communication options since officers with digital radios will be able to switch to analog mode.
Mahanoy City Fire Department Safety Officer Tony Blackwell spoke of the costs involved to purchase radios for an entire volunteer fire department. Krater pointed out that the digital changeover will be for police departments and emergency medical services, but fire department communications will remain the same.
"The application process is pretty easy, but there is a lot of paperwork," Garnett said. "There is not a lot of grant money out there. We do have fixed (interest) loan money, which we expect the interest rate to drop soon."
Garnett said the grants are matching grants, which would required the grantees to match at a rate that would be based on the median household income of the community as compared to the state average. He said the grant match could range from 15 to 55 percent.
While there were technical questions, many questions focused on the costs of upgrading the radios at this time where funds are so limited. Green said the current low band analog system is having problems due to the "noise floor," which makes it harder to communicate due to electronic interference cause by computers and other devices.
"I would ask you that if your community is even remotely interested in the program to get an application, fill it in and get it in so at least, first of all, you're in line, and secondly, we can take a look at the incomes and everything else," Hanley said. "I'm working with several other parts of the federal government to see if we can pick up additional funding."
After the meeting, Reilly Township emergency management coordinator James Deichert said it is important to look for alternate funding sources.
"I'm taking an active role since it affects everything," Deichert said. "I learned a lot of information. I think the USDA program has something, but I also think that there are some other programs out there that we'll have to look into to see what is the best option within our township."
Deichert said that most Schuylkill County communities have limited financial resources and that a way or ways need to be found to upgrade the systems.
"Somewhere along the line we have to figure out a way so everybody can get a fair shake and maybe we can get this thing together," Deichert said.
Hanley was pleased with turnout and that some questions about concerns of the changeover were answered.
"The concerns are certainly legitimate. There is a great deal of expense involved, so we want to get every dollar we can from any agency, be it state or federal, to try to take care of these people. The work that they do is incredible and they've got to be able to communicate."