Commissioners approve $440K for radio system overhaul
The Lycoming County commissioners approved a $440,000 contract Thursday with MCM Consulting Group for work developing the countywide radio system overhaul, projected to cost about $7.4 million.
That $7.4 million price tag, established through a nine-month study recently completed by the group, includes the $440,000 contract.
Several first responders attended to offer their perspectives on the importance of the update. The goal is to get equipment that is not proprietary, meaning various parts could be paired regardless of brand, the commissioners and first responders agreed.
“Our radio communications can be life or death,” said Chris Miller, chief of police for Pennsylvania College of Technology, adding that he’s spent much of his career fighting proprietary equipment.
The commissioners also approved an ordinance to take out a bond not to exceed $11 million to help pay for the overhaul.
The goal is to receive a $9 million bond by the end of the year to avoid an increase in interest rates.
About $6.4 million of the bond will be used in 2019, primarily for aspects of the radio system update. Of that, about $2 million also will go toward replacing voting machines countywide, as mandated by the state.
The bond will be spread over 15 years, and the money can be re-designated, said Chris Brewer, bond council for the county.
For example, should the state overturn its mandate to replace voting machines, the $2 million dedicated to that project could be used elsewhere, he said.
In another matter, the commissioners approved fee increases for Resource Management Services for 2019.
Minimum load fees will increase from $13 to $20 at the transfer station and $15 to $20 at the landfill.
Haulers currently not subjected to those fees will be as of Jan. 1 — a cause for concern for some smaller hauling businesses.
“I think there are certain circumstances that need to come into play,” Cliff Bower Jr., of Lower Disposal. “(My partner) goes in pretty much ever day with a load that’s under the minimum.”
The commissioners approved the changes with a condition that they would try to find a legal solution for circumstances such as Bower’s.
In addition, the transfer station will implement a $100 fee for any load greater than 12 tons in an attempt to discourage oversized loads, which are wearing down equipment there, Yorks said.
In other business, the commissioners will not meet next week. They’re next meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Nov. 27 in Executive Plaza.
That week, the commissioners will consider updating LERTA, or Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance, zones in the City of Williamsport. Improvements to commercial or industrial properties in these zones are temporarily exempted from taxes in the hopes of spurring economic development.
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