Mahaska County implements new radio system
Dec. 21—OSKALOOSA — Mahaska County first responders are rolling out a new radio system that will provide a reliable way for first responders to communicate with one another while on the job.
The new system has been in the works for a long time. Mahaska County Emergency Management Administrator says that the county has needed a new radio system for years.
"The last 20 plus years I've been a responder in this county, our radio system has not been up to par," Robinson says. "There's times when responders can't talk to responders while we're in the ditch. We can't talk to dispatch, dispatch can't talk to us, and it's just been an ongoing problem for as long as I can remember in this county."
"Several years ago we started talking about upgrading," Robinson says.
The county found that an 800 megahertz platform was a reliable and cost effective choice to replace the old system and entered into a contract with RACOM: Emergency Response Systems. Mahaska County also joined the Shared Area Radio Agreement (SARA).
"We joined the SARA system. It is a shared system. All the largest counties in the state of Iowa use it, including Johnson, Linn, Black Hawk, Polk County. So there's just lots of different counties on it. Iowa County's on in, Poweshiek County's coming on it, Jasper County's on it. There's a lot of counties out there that are using the system and have been using it for a long, long period of time," Robinson says.
Robinson says that so far, the system is making a positive first impression with Mahaska County's first responders.
"We rolled it out yesterday and it has just been phenomenal. This morning we were talking from a handheld radio to another handheld radio in different counties. Before we couldn't talk block to block, and now we're talking different county to different county," Robinson says. "It's phenomenal. The coverage we're seeing, the technology...we are so excited about this."
Robinson says that the new radio system will not only benefit first responders, but also organizations that operate within the county, such as schools.
"We did build emergency school channels, and as they get the state radios, they'll tie directly into our dispatch console. So if they hit that button, that immediately comes to 911. They don't have to dial anything. They just push the red button," Robinson says.
The new system will actually allow people inside the schools to communicate directly with first responders via radio in the event of an emergency at the school. Robinson says that some of the Oskaloosa schools buses will also have portable radios tied into the system eventually.
Other local groups who will have talk groups on the new system include public works, the City of Oskaloosa and Mahaska Health.
Robinson says that the cost of the project was approximately $5,000,000 total. Subscriber equipment, particularly, cost approximately $1.3 million and was paid for by the county's surcharge fund. Robinson especially wants to thank the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors for their help funding the project.
"The supervisors bonded for the whole system, and hats off to the board of supervisors. I mean, this system should last us 20 to 30 years, so very grateful for their contribution to get this up and going...We couldn't have done it without them," Robinson says.
Currently, as the county implements the new system, old police scanners will be picking up only bare-minimum traffic. If residents of Mahaska County would like to continue to have access to first responder radio traffic, they will need to purchase a digital scanner now that the new system is in place.
"There are several talk groups now that are encrypted, so they won't hear everything, but they can hear a majority of the day to day happenings in Mahaska County with a digital scanner," Robinson says.
Overall, Robinson says that in spite of the cost, the new radio system will be a benefit to the county for years to come.
"It's unfortunate the cost for these new systems are what they are, but they're a long-term solution to a huge issue that a lot of people don't even realize we have. People don't realize we can't talk responder to responder before we went to this system, and other counties are having the same problem," says Robinson.
As of this week, Mahaska County is no longer facing that struggle.
Channing Rucks can be reached at crucks@oskyherald.com.
