County to invest in new radio equipment for sheriff’s office

More than $600,000 will be spent to secure new radio equipment for the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office to bring the department in line with high quality communication systems throughout the state.

The Jasper County Board of Supervisors approved a contract with RACOM during its regular Tuesday meeting following a presentation by Sheriff John Halferty and Lt. Brad Schutts.

“There is one piece of equipment fire, police and EMS use every day on every call and that is communications through the radio,” Halferty said. “We don’t always use all of the other special equipment, so we want to have a system that is going to be efficient, safe and work.”

The purchase includes 71 mobile and portable radios, radio infrastructure, installation and maintenance for RACOM’s 700/800 MHz P25 trunking network. Halferty said they selected RACOM because the digital radio coverage was specifically tailored to the needs of local first responders, it will work seamlessly with neighbors such as Marshall and Polk County who also use RACOM for P25 communications ,and they had a business model that gives region wide coverage when required.

The new system will replace a dated system that has been in place for several decades.

“Some of the equipment, the radios are between 10 and 15 years old, so they are at end of life. Some of the tower equipment requires annual maintenance, at one time we had a cable that was 25-plus years old,” Halferty said. “The plan that we have in place is to not only get this system up and running but also to work with our 911 board and continue to make sure we don’t get behind on maintenance and equipment.”

The equipment will be paid for in part by using a $200,000 consolidation grant the department received through the state. The final $426,348 will be split up into three interest-free payments to be paid over the next three years.

“With these new radios we will be able to communicate, they are multi-band radio, we will be able to talk with the statewide system,” Halferty said.

Along with the county services, several Jasper County towns, including Prairie City, Monroe and Colfax either have or are working on getting the same radio system. Schutts said he expected all law enforcement in the county to have the updated radios in the near future.

“I was at an Iowa State Association of Counties meeting and asked different sheriff’s and supervisors about switching and got the same answers, which was it is the right thing to do,” Supervisor Doug Cupples said.

Halferty said he expects to have the infrastructure installed by the end of June. The radios can be used as soon as they are available because of the duel frequency capabilities.

In other business:

• Richie Bickle and Kelly Zudema were appointed to the Cemetery Commission.

• Cupples was appointed to the Iowa Workforce Development Board and the Jasper County Economic Development Corporation Board.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com