County seeking $6 million more in grants to upgrade communications system
CHENANGO COUNTY – After being awarded a six million dollar grant Chenango County officials have confirmed that they’re seeking another six million dollars with the hope of completing a communication system overhaul.
Chenango County Fire Coordinator and Emergency Management Director Matthew Beckwith said Chenango County recently received six million dollars as part of phase one of the 2018 Statewide Interoperable Communications Targeted Grant Program.
Beckwith said the Statewide Interoperable Communications Grant has allowed counties to make vital improvements in the way first responders can communicate between each other and different regions of the state using land mobile radio systems.
He said many aspects of Chenango County’s radio system are “end of life” meaning the manufactures that made the systems are no longer in existence, which can make finding parts difficult.
“Our radio system was built in the early 2000’s, and we found that many of the parts that were used to build it are no longer being provided by their former manufacturers,” said Beckwith. “We also have to replace our microwave dishes, which are at maximum capacity meaning we’re not able to add any additional radio systems at this time.”
“A microwave is a big wave that connects all of our towers - it’s essentially the backbone of the system.”
Beckwith said the grant funding has to be applied for, and there’s no guarantee that it will be provided, but if it is, that upgrade could make a big difference for countywide coordination.
He said New York State officials hope to increase the radio accessibility, with the plan of making it so a person could travel throughout the state with the same radio system and still be able to make contact with government agencies.
“If we’re able to get the full amount of the grant funding, we’re planning on expanding our system’s capacity and connecting with Madison and Broome Counties’ systems,” he added. “NYSTEC has been hired to look at our system and explore what the best ways would be to improve it.”
“We’re hoping that with this grant funding we will see a large improvement to our systems, which would allow us to add a highway department channel so everyone is on the same page.”
Beckwith said the upgrades would likely impact scanners at residents’ homes, and that people would likely have to change their systems if they wanted to keep their access to the system.
He said he’s unsure of exactly when the renovations will be finished, but there will be time required for acquiring sites and collecting bids.
Chenango County Fire Coordinator and Emergency Management Director Matthew Beckwith said Chenango County recently received six million dollars as part of phase one of the 2018 Statewide Interoperable Communications Targeted Grant Program.
Beckwith said the Statewide Interoperable Communications Grant has allowed counties to make vital improvements in the way first responders can communicate between each other and different regions of the state using land mobile radio systems.
He said many aspects of Chenango County’s radio system are “end of life” meaning the manufactures that made the systems are no longer in existence, which can make finding parts difficult.
“Our radio system was built in the early 2000’s, and we found that many of the parts that were used to build it are no longer being provided by their former manufacturers,” said Beckwith. “We also have to replace our microwave dishes, which are at maximum capacity meaning we’re not able to add any additional radio systems at this time.”
“A microwave is a big wave that connects all of our towers - it’s essentially the backbone of the system.”
Beckwith said the grant funding has to be applied for, and there’s no guarantee that it will be provided, but if it is, that upgrade could make a big difference for countywide coordination.
He said New York State officials hope to increase the radio accessibility, with the plan of making it so a person could travel throughout the state with the same radio system and still be able to make contact with government agencies.
“If we’re able to get the full amount of the grant funding, we’re planning on expanding our system’s capacity and connecting with Madison and Broome Counties’ systems,” he added. “NYSTEC has been hired to look at our system and explore what the best ways would be to improve it.”
“We’re hoping that with this grant funding we will see a large improvement to our systems, which would allow us to add a highway department channel so everyone is on the same page.”
Beckwith said the upgrades would likely impact scanners at residents’ homes, and that people would likely have to change their systems if they wanted to keep their access to the system.
He said he’s unsure of exactly when the renovations will be finished, but there will be time required for acquiring sites and collecting bids.
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