SUNBURY - The price tag for upgrades to the Northumberland County Communications Center will not be as steep as originally thought.
County commissioners feared upgrades could cost up to $12 million, but a proposal submitted by Motorolla Solutions of Columbia, Md., lists the base price of a "VHF-trunked" system at approximately $5.5 million, excluding pagers, radios and other equipment, which could cost up to $1 million.
Controller Tony Phillips reported at Tuesday's commissioners' meeting that five companies submitted bids, but only Motorolla included a proposal for the trunked system. Motorolla also submitted a separate proposal for pagers, mobile and portable radios for $965,508.20, and a discounted price of $665,508.20 if the county accepted its proposal for the main system.
Commissioners Vinny Clausi, Richard Shoch and Stephen Bridy said they are pleased the cost for the upgrades will not be as high as originally anticipated and agreed to accept the proposals for tabulation and review before awarding a contract at a future public meeting.
Clausi made mention of previous comments by Shoch about the overall cost of the upgrades. He said Shoch claimed the county could lose $5 million because it did not follow former Commissioner Frank Sawicki's plan in 2010 to meet the new requirements for the communications system.
At a December press conference called by Clausi, Shoch said the county was in a seller's market "because this problem was ignored" for more than a decade, and predicted the county would spend $11 million to $12 million if a digital-trunked system was needed due to the lack of analogue narrow-band frequencies. Clausi said at the time that county officials weren't confident in 2010 in the system that had been proposed and that he followed the advice of experts.
On Tuesday, Clausi said, "The evidence shows I was right all along." He told Shoch, "You can take the money off my bill."
Shoch responded, "I'll take it off your bill, but you'll probably make up for it in legal fees."
Shoch said later the county should feel lucky the price isn't higher. He said the county will be able to obtain special frequencies for the system that it didn't think would be available after the project was delayed.
In December, the county received notification that it's deadline to meet the federal mandate for the 911 upgrades was extended by the Federal Communications Commission to Dec. 31, 2013.
The county, which originally sought an extension until March 1, 2014, entered into a contract in November with Mission Critical Partners, State College, for approximately $450,000 for consulting services for the upgrades. Shoch said the consultant informed him that penalties could be imposed as high as $10,000 per day if the deadline is missed.
Bids were also received from Leavitt Communication LLC, Paradise Valley, Ariz, for 490 regular pagers ($332.75 each) and 490 voice pagers ($368 each); United Communication Corp., St. Charles, Mo., for 490 pagers at a total of $182,408; Relm Wireless, Hagerstown, Md., for mobile and portable radios, $391,709.70, and Tactical Public Safety, West Berlin, N.J., for different style radios and optional equipment ranging in cost from $1,816.70 to $365,967.