County OKs emergency radio upgrades

About three years away from a federal deadline, McLeod County law enforcement agencies and emergency responders are working on upgrading their radio communications systems.

By Dec. 31, 2012, the Federal Communications Commission requires all agencies to migrate to narrow-band systems. The state of Minnesota is building an 800 MHz network backbone of towers, microwave equipment and computer controllers across the state. The system is called the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response, or ARMER.

Local partners including the Sheriff’s Office, city fire and police departments, ambulance services, Hutchinson Area Health Care and the County Highway Department plan to piggyback on the ARMER system. But it won’t be a free ride.

Last week, the County Board accepted consulting firm Federal Engineering’s recommendation to adopt a system estimated to cost $2.2 million in capital expenditures and first-year maintenance. The estimated cumulative cost of ownership over 10 years will be $3.71 million. The county and partner cities will seek grants to help pay for the upgrade.

“Basically we want to have all the equipment ready to go at least six months before Jan. 1, 2013,” said Sheriff Scott Rehmann.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)