SUNBURY - Northumberland County commissioners will conduct a special meeting at 11 a.m. Wednesday to vote on awarding a contract for a countywide radio communications system.
Chief Clerk Gary Steffen said the new system will be capable of providing dispatching services for the entire county, including the northern end that is currently supplied 911 services by Union County.
Steffen said the commissioners will not make a decision at the meeting about providing dispatching services for the northern end of the county. He said that issue is still being reviewed.
In May, commissioners reported the price tag for upgrades to the county communications center will not be as steep as originally thought. Estimates were up to $12 million, but a proposal submitted by Motorola 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.
Five companies submitted bids, but only Motorola included a proposal for the trunked system. Motorola 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.
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.
In December, the county received notification that its 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.
At a June 4 commissioners' meeting, fire and government officials from the northern end of the county voiced several concerns over the pending decision by the county commissioners involving upgrades to the county communications center.