County approves more than $630K for 4 new radio towers, communication shelters
ALBION – The Orleans County Legislature has approved spending more than $630,000 for four new radio towers, communication shelters and an emergency power source.
The projects are funded through a state grant for $5,897,141. That grant will also pay for technology to connect separate radio systems and new radio channels to strengthen communications between multiple jurisdictions and agencies.
The County Legislature on Wednesday approved a $452,019 bid from Patriot Towers in Scottsville to supply communication shelters and UPS (uninterruptible power source).
The Legislature also approved a $181,200 bid from Fred Nudd Construction in Ontario, NY for four communication towers. Three of the towers will be 180 feet high and they will be located by the Public Safety Building on Route 31 in Albion, Millers Road in Yates and near the Kendall Central School in Kendall at a site that is to be finalized, said Dale Banker, director of the Emergency Management Office in Orleans County.
The other tower will be 150 feet high and will be near the Holley water tank on Route 237.
The new towers should be up by late 2019 or in early 2020, Banker said.
The new towers and equipment are part of an upgrade to the emergency communications system, which serves firefighters, law enforcement, highway employees, probation and some other municipal workers in the county.
The system currently has poor coverage in the Holley area, along Lake Ontario and some other isolated locations in the county, especially in buildings with thick walls.
The county was successful with a grant application through the 2018 Statewide Interoperable Communications Targeted Grant through the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services Office.
