Staff Writer

ELIZABETHTOWN — Essex County's $8 million public-safety radio system replacement project is spending its first $1.5 million.

The county is paying Alcatel-Lucent $1.5 million for engineering services to survey microwave paths and design the new system.

County Manager Daniel Palmer said the work is included in the serial bonds issued by the county for the project.

"The point we are at now is we need to have the actual survey done. It's part of the original project."

The county is replacing its antiquated emergency radio system because it's believed to be failing. County Emergency Services Director Donald Jaquish said the current system has had 61 network failures in three years.

The system is used to dispatch police, fire and ambulance services in response to 911 calls to the County Enhanced-911 Center in Lewis.

The county will also pay $8,950 to Federal Engineering of Fairfax, Va., to prepare requests for proposals for the civil construction work on the project.

"Federal Engineering will prepare those documents and get them out on the street," Palmer said.

The new system will no longer use the Palmer Hill tower, but the county is paying Wells Communications $9,820 to repair the radio repeater there.

Palmer said the repeater can still be used in the new system, just not on Palmer Hill.

"It is not in the design of the radio system, at this point, but I think if there are dark (coverage) areas that we need to get to, then this repeater can be used," Palmer said.

"Palmer Hill will not be used, but the equipment could be taken out of there."

The cost will be paid from the Sheriff's Department budget.

The radio project won't build any new radio towers but will add antennas to several existing mountaintop towers that the 911 center can use to dispatch emergency responders.

To raise money for the new radio network, the county has asked the State Legislature for approval to impose a real-estate transfer tax of $1 per $500 of the sale price. Someone buying a home for $100,000 would pay $200 in county transfer tax, County Attorney Daniel Manning III said.

Although the bond issue for the project is for $10 million, the system itself is expected to cost about $8 million, with the rest for contingency. The county is getting a good deal on the bonds, Palmer said, since Standard & Poors just raised the county's bond rating from A-minus to AA because the county has a low debt ratio.

That means an interest rate of 1.6 percent, he said.

"That's about as good as you can get."

E-mail Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com