Commissioners discuss altering radio contract

Jay County Commissioners have a decision to make regarding radios.

Do they continue to move forward with joining Indiana’s Integrated Public Safety Commission’s (IPSC) statewide radio system, or do they take a step back and also look into costs and specifics for installing a standalone system?

Commissioners met with Barry Ritter and other representatives of Ritter Strategic Services on Thursday to discuss potentially altering the county’s contract. Commissioners didn’t make a decision Thursday, noting they will revisit the topic at their meeting Monday.

Commissioners president Chad Aker brought up the topic at commissioners’ meeting Jan. 27, suggesting the county look into a standalone system. (The IPSC system is specifically intended for public safety entities, with non-emergency personnel allowed only in emergencies.)

Commissioners approved a $178,500 contract with Ritter Strategic Service in July to move forward with planning, procurement, engineering, project management and other work related to switching to the statewide system. The decision followed an earlier Ritter Strategic Services study conducted on the county’s emergency responder radios, with the company recommending Jay County switch to the IPSC system.

Barry Ritter explained that his company has received a proposal from Motorola for tower sites — the IPSC has a 20-year contract with the company to set up equipment for the system — as well as proposals from other vendors for pagers and other equipment. Ritter Strategic Services plans to negotiate prices with vendors before finalizing costs.

Aker contacted Ritter recently about looking into a radio system that non-emergency responders, such as Jay County Highway Department, could use. He mentioned issues the department has had with its radio system.

“If we go forward with a public safety system with what we’ve proposed here, now the county’s got to turn around and look at another system, it could be a million dollars, half a million, two, we don’t know,” he said. “With a standalone system, you can control who uses that and who doesn’t use that.”

Ritter asked for a direction on how the company should proceed, noting a change in scope for the contract would be required if the county wishes to also look into a standalone system. (The adjustment would cost an additional $39,000.)

 Commissioner Duane Monroe asked a series of questions, including whether the state will continue to utilize the same system 10 years from now — Ritter noted Indiana has a 20-year contract with Motorola, although he said he doesn’t know how many years are left on the contract — and shared concerns about the system being tied to phone lines in the event of a weather emergency.

Dylan Griffith of Ritter Strategic Services noted the system utilizes microwave and fiberoptic cables, which are incorporated underground and in the air. If one pathway were to fail, the system would reroute to other paths.

Aker emphasized he would like to be provided with more than one option for the county to pursue regarding radios, specifically pointing to a need for the highway department to be connected.

Commissioners referenced a few county officials in the audience and asked for their opinions.

Jay County Council president Matt Minnich noted the county went with Ritter’s recommendation to move to the IPSC system originally. He also expressed interest in the county having more than one option to look at for its radio system, asking Ritter if he could gather information such as costs, pros and cons comparing the IPSC system to a standalone system. Ritter confirmed he could, noting it may add another three or four months to the timeline.

Aker said he foresees the county needing to look into a new system for the highway department regardless. He suggested amending the scope of the work, whether it be for a different system for the highway department or a standalone system for all departments. He then asked for council member Harold Towell’s thoughts.

Towell questioned if IPSC allows non-public safety entities on its bandwidth. Ritter clarified it doesn’t allow non-public safety entities on the system for day-to-day operations but does allow them in emergency situations.

Jay County Emergency Management Agency director Samantha Rhodehamel noted she received a text from a Motorola representative, who was watching the livestream of the meeting. According to the representative, she said, under IPSC’s new director it has started allowing county highway departments to join the system.

Aker questioned whether that rule may change in the future when IPSC has another director. Ritter said he would need to verify whether IPSC is now allowing county highways on its system. (It does allow Indiana Department of Transportation on its bandwidth but previously did not allow county highway departments.)

Commissioners asked Ritter to look into the matter and share his findings with them before their meeting Monday.

Jay County Sheriff Ray Newton reminded commissioners the clock is ticking.

“Just remember, the longer we wait, the more we’re going to jeopardize public safety, and the taxpayer,” he said.