ELIZABETHTOWN ? Essex County's $9 million radio-system replacement just got a $2 million boost from a state grant.
The money is coming from a Statewide Interoperable Communication Grant created from 911 surcharge monies the state collects from cellular users.
Essex County Emergency Services Director Donald Jaquish said the funding will be used for microwave relay equipment in the new system.
He said it also ensures Essex County will get tower space for its dishes and antennas.
"I think we'll be a lot better off than if we had to do it alone. We didn't have places to put our microwave dishes unless they (other agencies) took theirs down."
Work is expected to begin in spring 2012.
THE BACKBONE
Other counties also got grants. Warren County will receive $736,398, while Washington County will get $171,500.
The money will be used for a five-county emergency-communications network that includes Franklin and Clinton counties, but those two didn't get grants in this round.
"The grant helps us, but it's interweaved with other counties," Jaquish said. "They got money to tie in to our system. We're the backbone."
He said the dishes will be part of an emergency-communications network in a redundant array that will allow emergency dispatching to continue even if one tower fails.
"Our microwave will link to their microwave," Jaquish said. "We'll link to other contiguous counties. It's part of our project."
FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
As part of a continuing project, Essex County is replacing most of its 1950s-era communications system with modern equipment, including new radios in every fire truck and ambulance in the county.
Essex County Board of Supervisors Chair Randy Douglas (D-Jay) said the grant will help them a lot.
"This is desperately needed in Essex County, as we continue to improve our communication devices for emergency situations. Our professional and volunteer emergency-service departments desperately need an improved radio system to provide public safety for our constituents."
State Office of Interoperable and Emergency Communications Director Robert M. Barbato said in a release that "the state intends to help counties improve the ability for first-responders to communicate with each other and create a network of regional partnerships to provide for interoperable communications statewide.?We believe that this award will help make progress towards that goal, and we look forward to working with them to achieve it."
A POSITIVE NOTE
The Essex County Department of Community Resources applied for the grant.
"We have a dedicated group of individuals working to ensure our first-responders have the critical infrastructure in place to perform during emergencies," Community Resources Director Michael Mascarenas said.
"With all of the issues we had this year, it was nice to end the year on a positive note."
Essex County has suffered through two floods in 2011, with road and bridge repairs from Tropical Storm Irene in August still not completed.
Jaquish said they're also getting help from public and private agencies in exchange for space on new radio towers.
Essex County will pick up 33? percent of the cost; New York State Police, another third; and New York State Electric and Gas, the remaining one-third.
Email Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
Source: http://pressrepublican.com/0100_news/x1120121238/Essex-County-gets-2-million-for-communications
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