Ohio County Prepares for Statewide Communications System

WOOSTER — Whether the county’s first responders and elected officials opt to migrate to a statewide communications system or not, the groundwork is being laid to make for a smooth transition should it become a reality.

Wayne County Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Villegas updated commissioners Scott Wiggam, Jim Carmichael and Ann Obrecht about what’s happening regarding plans to upgrade the radio communications infrastructure.

After years of not embracing the state’s Multi-Agency Radio Communications System because of the cost of radios and ongoing monthly user fees, the commissioners are now throwing their support behind MARCS.

A study showed it would be too costly to upgrade the existing towers and equipment to the latest technology, which sold the commissioners on MARCS.

Wayne County’s topography has presented communications challenges, especially in the Doylestown and Chippewa Township area. During a public meeting in July with first responders and elected officials, two towers were identified (in New Pittsburg and at the Wooster Post) to use with MARCS.

Concerns were expressed about Northeastern Wayne County because of the difficulties to transmit signals. Because of the feedback, Villegas is working on identifying a tower site in the northeast quadrant, bringing the number of towers to three. He is continuing to look into whether an existing MARCS tower in neighboring Stark County could be beneficial here.

During the meeting, Villegas shared with the commissioners that he is being asked by first responders how committed they are to the project. He has told him the commissioners are looking to spend around $600,000 to address the issue, which is a significant investment and shows their commitment.

“As soon as everyone else gets on board, we’ll be fully committed,” Carmichael said, a reference to State Fire Marshal Larry Flowers’ comments that grant money is available to county fire departments, but only if all are on the same page and file a joint application.

“We need to get the fire departments on board,” Obrecht said.

Trying to get everyone on the same page could be difficult.

“Unfortunately, it all comes down to dollars,” said Canaan Township Fire Chief Brandon Smith. “MARCS is a very good system, but the problem is funding. It’s an expensive switch-over, even with the $50,000” in grant funding.

The latest state budget made grant money available for rural fire departments to receive up to $50,000 each for MARCS equipment, but even if Canaan Township were to receive it, the amount is not enough to cover the costs of about 60 radios the department needs. Radios cost about $2,000.

The state budget also brought user fees down to $10 a month from $20, but that still amounts to about $7,200 a year for Canaan Township.

“It all adds up,” Smith said. “Buy-in from the (fire) chiefs is possible,” but there will be some hold-outs. The interoperability is nice between agencies and between counties, but there is a sentiment among chiefs the cost is an issue.

Creston Police Chief Brian Meshew, who sits on the county’s MARCS steering committee, is among those who would like the see what the commitment from the commissioners is. He said he and other chiefs would like them to support a sales tax increase to help fund a countywide system.

“MARCS looks like a good system,” Meshew said. “The coverage map looks excellent, and the in-building coverage is excellent.”

Creston’s police officers have communications issues with their handheld radios, especially around the county line, and MARCS should be an improvement.

Meshew said there is some uncertainty as to why agencies in the county are not considering a consolidation of communications services, whether having the public safety answering points in Wooster or with the new regional dispatching center involving Wooster, Ashland and Orrville, which is in the development stage.

“I understand they are two issues (communications and dispatching), but they are really not,” Meshew said. “I don’t care who is dispatching as long as it is a quality service, I can be heard and can communicate.”

Meshew would like to see a portion of the sales tax go for communications because, while there is money for fire departments, there is not that kind of funding for law enforcement.

Villegas will be applying for grant money from the Department of Homeland Security and from Ohio Department of Public Safety, and he is hopeful the funding can be used to purchase equipment for law enforcement.

If the county does go with MARCS, it opens up a lot of possibilities, Carmichael said.

Schools could use it, especially in emergency situations; the radios can be used in school buses; and road crews can use it, too.

Wiggam asked Villegas to talk with school district superintendents about the system.

The MARCS steering committee is scheduled to meet Sept. 5.

Reporter Bobby Warren can be reached at 330-287-1639 or bwarren@the-daily-record.com He is @BobbyWarrenTDR on Twitter.