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Commissioner Brown - To Approve the Purchase/Replacement of the Public Safety Radio System with the NC VIPER System, which Includes the System Infrastructure and the Replacement of 1800 County Handheld and Mobile Radios and Includes a 12-Channel, 8-Site Simulcast System with 25 Consoles
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STAFF CONTACT
Joseph D. Ramey - Chief of Police - Gaston County Police Department - 704-866-3321
BUDGET IMPACT
budget
N/A
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BUDGET ORDINANCE IMPACT
N/A
BACKGROUND
The Gaston County Radio Communications system is utilized by all County public safety to include twenty-six volunteer and municipal fire departments, GEMS and four volunteer rescue squads, Sheriff's Office, Gaston County, Gastonia, Cramerton, Stanley, Belmont, Ranlo, Lowell, and Bessemer City Police Departments. Gaston County currently uses UHF/VHF radio technology which is over fifty years old and has limited capabilities. In addition, the current system lacks technological support from major radio manufacturers. Our current system underwent re-farming over fifteen years ago and is in need of repair. The County has recently spent over $100,000 in evaluating and completing minor repairs to the current system in addition to the funds paid to the City of Gastonia for maintenance. County staff, at the direction of the Manager's Office, began to evaluate the current system over two and a half years ago. The staff included representatives from Gaston County Police, Sheriff's Office, GEMS, and Fire Marshal's Office.
After extensive review and evaluation it was determined the citizens of Gaston County would be better served by replacing the current system with a more modern 800-band radio system. County staff, during research, determined there are two 800 systems available to replace the current system, NC VIPER and Charlotte's UASI system. County staff has held meetings with both system representatives, researched the costs of each system over their projected life cycle, spoken with various users of ...
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