Wednesday, November 27, 2002
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Wednesday, November 27, 2002 |
County OK's radio system purchaseBy JOHN
THOMPSON
The Fayette County Commission gave unanimous approval last Saturday to buying the county's new communications systems from Motorola for $7.6 million. County administrator Chris Cofty said the deal is something the county had been trying to work out for five years when it learned the FCC was selling its current frequency to Southern Company. The purchase will probably be a lease purchase agreement through Motorola over a 10-year period, but Cofty said it's still to early to know the exact details of the financing. When the FCC sold the frequency, it instructed Southern Company to work with the county in obtaining a new frequency. "I told (county attorney) Bill McNally to try and get about $6 million out of them, but we'll see," he said. The county's original estimate for replacing the system was nearly $10 million, but county officials have been able to negotiate with existing tower owners in the county to place their communication centers on the privately-owned towers. The county's emergency departments currently operate on the 806 band, buy Cofty said the new system, which should be running in June, will be on the 821 band. "This is a dual system that will eventually allow us to go completely digital if we want," he said. The County Commission thanked Cofty for his negotiations and urged McNally to get the best possible deal for the county in his negotiations with southern Company.
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