ELIZABETHTOWN -- Essex County took a big step toward building a new emergency radio system Wednesday when it hired Motorola Communications to design the project.

The county has a state contract price of $188 an hour for Motorola to design the system, but company representatives said that if the County Board of Supervisors doesn't like their plan, it can reject it without owing them anything.

The selection by the County Radio Subcommittee must be approved by the Public Safety Committee Monday, and later the full Board of Supervisors.

CHALLENGES

Motorola Customer Solutions Architect Richard Pollak made a 90-minute presentation to the Board of Supervisors, during which he promised his firm could deliver a reliable communications system.

The county's current public-safety radio system was installed in the 1950s and is failing. Previous estimates for a new system have been around $12 million.

"We know Essex County has many challenges to get past to get a public-safety communications system," said Motorola Account Manager Kevin Ryan.

SECRET MEETINGS

One challenge may be the revelation by Supervisor Gerald Morrow (D-Chesterfield) that a "core group" of six supervisors and county officials have been holding secret meetings to discuss the project.

Members of the group are Supervisors Noel Merrihew III (R-Elizabethtown) and Randy Preston (I-Wilmington), County Attorney Daniel Manning III, Information Systems Director Daniel Palmer, Emergency Services Director Raymond Thatcher and Enhanced-911 Coordinator Donald Jaquish.

"I have a big problem with the core group from the start," Morrow said. "The rest of us didn't even know there was such an animal as the core group. I don't think we should have to hear in the back room there are secret meetings going on."

He said he's heard of two closed-door meetings held by the radio core group but has no idea what was discussed.

Merrihew defended the sessions, saying he'll issue reports from the core group in the future.

And Manning said it's just a group to discuss radio-system information.

"We really didn't designate ourselves as a committee."