Trumbull County commissioners recently approved contracts for their parts of the construction of a new radio tower in Brookfield to improve emergency communications.

Dick Miller, field operations manager for the Multi-Agency Radio Communication System, said he is waiting for permits so construction can begin.

“We’re getting real close,” he said. 

The 400-foot tower is designed to eliminate radio communication dead spots in Masury south and east of Route 62 and along Yankee Run Road, and other areas on the eastern side of Trumbull County.

The tower on the east side of Route 7 at McMullen Drive is a joint effort by the county and the state. The commissioners approved using American Rescue Plan Act funds and on May 22 awarded contracts to Motorola Solutions Inc. for the hardware, software and other electronic services to the tower, and Thermo Bond Buildings LLC for the building that will house the electronic equipment.

Lawyer Jim Misocky, who advises the commissioners on American Rescue Plan Act projects, said Motorola is the sole source for MARCS equipment, while Thermo Bond was the low bidder through a state bid process.

Motorola’s bid was $500,296, and Thermo Bond’s was $193,960.

The Thermo Bond building weighs 60,000 pounds and will be “relatively bomb-proof,” Misocky said.

The state is paying for construction of the tower, Misocky said.

“It’s much needed,” Commissioner Mauro Cantalamessa said at the board’s May 21 workshop. “It’s for public safety. We have to do this.”

Commissioner Denny Malloy agreed at the May 22 voting meeting, but cautioned that there will be costs in the future that could hurt local departments. Some departments will have to buy MARCS radios and there will be upgrade and license fees, he said.

“When they have needs down the road, we just need to be mindful and watch out for that and see what we can do and work with them to make sure we’re not putting undue stress on their budgets if we do this,” Malloy said.

Commissioner Niki Frenchko, who went along with her fellow commissioners to approve awarding the contracts, said Malloy should have taken cost to departments into account when he voted to approve increasing the fees fire and police departments pay to Trumbull County 911.

Brookfield Fire Department moved to MARCS radios in 2020 when most county fire departments banded together for a grant application, and Brookfield Police Department recently bought three-way radios that have MARCS, UHF and VHF capabilities.

MARCS was created by the state of Ohio to serve Ohio agencies, but has been expanded to allow use by federal, county and local emergency agencies.

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