New radio system links city, county departments

After years of planning and preparation, the centralized radio system designed to link Greene County's public safety entities has entered the testing phase.

The City of Springfield, Greene County and City Utilities of Springfield will share use of the new $27 million system, according to Bill Burks, associate general manager of operations at CU, who helped spearhead the project.

"Our equipment was out of date, and each of us was faced with having to replace our own system," said Burks. "If each of us had replaced our systems individually, it would have cost millions of dollars more."

CU, city and county law enforcement agencies and fire departments primarily will use the new trunked radio system. The new system will allow them to communicate with each other. In addition, the system will allow these agencies and departments to communicate with other city and county departments, such as Springfield's animal control department and Greene County's highway, parks and emergency management departments. Other agencies, such as Springfield Public Schools, the U.S. marshals and area ambulance services, may have access to the system in the future.

Currently, each of these entities uses and maintains its own two-way radio communication system, which operates on an assigned frequency. Because each agency and department operates on its own frequency, communication between agencies and departments is difficult.

"Let's say you're a policeman in the city of Springfield, and you're pursuing someone in their vehicle who leaves the city limits and goes into Greene County," said Burks. "You're outside your jurisdiction now, so you have to contact the Greene County sheriff. To do that, the policeman has to pick up their radio and contact the police dispatcher, who in turn has to turn around and contact the Greene County sheriff's dispatcher. With the trunked radio system, that same policeman could pick up his radio and speak directly with anyone at the Greene County Sheriff's Department who has radio access."

The trunked radio system will help increase internal communication at city and county departments and agencies as well. Most of the two-way radio systems currently in use can only accommodate one user at a time, said Burks. The trunked radio system, however, has 18 channels, which will allow multiple users within the same agency to transmit simultaneously.

To keep things organized, each trunked radio system user will be assigned to a "talk group." For example, users who are members of the Springfield Police Department form one talk group, Burks said, while members of the city's fire department will form another talk group.

In the event of an emergency, members of the Springfield police talk group could communicate directly with members of the city's fire department talk group by using a common talk group channel.

Burks said the centralized radio system is expected to meet the county's needs for the next 20 years. The system also was designed with expansion in mind, and up to six more channels can be added.

The trunked radio system currently has approximately 1,800 user radios and 17 consoles. Messages are relayed over 18 channels and signals are transmitted between seven towers located throughout Springfield and Greene County. Construction of the towers and supporting infrastructure was completed in May 2002, and testing of the system began soon after.

"We wanted to test the system when operating conditions were at their worst," said Burks. "Believe it or not, it's harder to get a signal when all the leaves are on the trees. We're also testing signal strength right now down in the valleys and in buildings around town. We have to make absolutely sure that you can get a good signal and use your radio no matter where you're located because lives depend on it. Law enforcement officers, firefighters and others who will be using this system have to be able to communicate with each other at all times. There can be no dead spots' in the system."

Select users currently are testing the trunked radio system and familiarizing themselves with the equipment. One test user, Capt. J.R. Webb, director of communications for the Greene County Sheriff's Department, gave the new system high marks.

"The system appears to be very robust, "he said. "It's a tremendous improvement over what we had in the past."

Webb said he believes others will find the new system easy to use, in large part because it gives visual clues that help guide users.

Burks said the trunked radio system was designed with the users' needs in mind. Work on the new system began in 1997 when a Technical Users Advisory Council was formed. Members of the council from various law enforcement agencies, fire departments and other public agencies in the county, each stated their performance requirements.

Once the system's performance requirements were established in July 1999, a request for proposal was issued, and bidding on the project began. Motorola was awarded the contract in April 2000. Departments and agencies within Greene County that will be using the centralized radio system signed a participation agreement later that same month.

CU hired six new employees to operate and maintain the radio system, and infrastructure and maintenance costs will be spilt equally between the city of Springfield, Greene County and CU.

Partial funding for the trunked radio system was obtained after Greene County voters passed a law enforcement sales tax in November 1997. Ongoing maintenance of the system will be partially funded by renting available space on each signal tower to telecommunications companies, Burks said.

If the testing phase goes smoothly, the system may go operational as soon as early July. City and county agencies would run dual systems for several months, with the switch being complete by September.