Emergency Management Director Jon Rosenlund gives a presentation about the P25 radio system to City Council March 19, (Carol Bryant, Central Nebraska Today)
GRAND ISLAND — Hall County Emergency Management Director Jon Rosenlund gave a presentation at the March 19 City Council study session about buying a P25-compliant digital radio station that is tied to the Nebraska Statewide Radio System.
The infrastructure of the system is comprised of two repeater sites at primary towers near Alda and City Hall and dispatch consoles at the Main and Alternate 911 centers.
“This system will allow the utilization of the full set of capabilities of the recently purchased handheld and mobile radios for the Grand Island Police and Fire Departments,” Rosenlund wrote in his memo to the City Council.
Grand Island and Hall County are the last major population centers that have yet to migrate to a digital, trunked, and interoperable radio system.
The initial and ongoing costs for the project are:
*$1 million for the two tower sites and $2 million for the dispatch consoles.
*Following the first year after installation, five additional years of hardware and software maintenance and replacement plan for tower sites and consoles for approximately $145,000 to $155,000 annually over a period of five years.
“We recommend that this system’s infrastructure costs (installation and maintenance) be divided 50/50 between the city and county” for these reasons:
*The current radio system is managed by the Emergency Management and Communications Department. The new system would also be managed and operated by the department.
*The city and county currently direct the Emergency Management and Communications Department through an interlocal agreement “that divides all costs 50/50.”
*Both the city and county agencies need the infrastructure and consoles equally.
*In 2023, the City Council and County Board submitted a CPF grant application for this project through Rep. Adrian Smith’s office, and the matching funds were divided 50/50. “The final disposition of that grant is pending,” Rosenlund wrote.
Concerning the grant, they are awaiting notification of the final award. There is 75 percent federal cost share. The 25 percent local cost share would be split evenly between the city and county. The city and county signed resolutions regarding this matter in March 2023, Rosenlund wrote.
Rosenlund wrote that it is unlikely that volunteer fire departments would migrate to the system because the radios needed “are exceptionally expensive.” Also, public works, utilities, the hospitals, and Grand Island Public Schools would not migrate to this radio system.
P25 means “Project 25,” a set of standards that manufacturers can follow to ensure that their radio equipment can communicate with equipment produced by other manufacturers. The current radio system is not P25 capable.
Currently, Hall County agencies use a mix of VHF and UHF radio frequencies. The public safety agencies, State Fair, airport, jail, and Utilities use the UHF band. The Public Works and Roads Departments use VHF.
The local system would be tied into the Statewide Radio System by a memorandum of understanding and has the ability to be tied into the Buffalo County system by a memorandum of understanding.
