Logan County fiscal court voted Tuesday to enter into an agreement with Kenwood to purchase the NexEdge digital radio system for $543,245.

Part of Magistrate Dickie Carter’s motion also included seeking $30,000 to $40,000 of grant monies from Homeland Security to help pay for the purchase as well as taking the remainder of the money out of the county’s emergency fund, instead of borrowing it and paying back interest.

Carter said he didn’t like taking money out of savings but felt this purchase would benefit the whole county and will save lives.

The county has approximately $3 million in reserves.

The county’s current radio system is 11 years old and is overloaded and outdated, causing communication problems between emergency services (fire departments and law enforcement) and the county’s Emergency Communications Center (ECC/911).

According to some emergency service workers, there are times they cannot get through to dispatch or each other and the problem could result in someone getting seriously injured or even killed.

A close call in Auburn involving fire chief Jeff Gregory put Fiscal Court on a fast track to finding a solution to this continuing problem. Gregory got into an alteration with a suspected arsonist who allegedly pulled a gun and fired it twice at Gregory. When the gun failed to fire Gregory ran and tried to contact dispatch on the radio but could not get through.

“If something is not done someone is going to lose their life,” said Gregory at a previous court meeting.

Sheriff Wallace Whittaker was asked by Fiscal Court at its last meeting to find out a “concrete” cost for the Kenwood NexEdge Radio System, which is being recommended by the Joint Emergency Communications Operations Board (JECOB) who acts as an advisor to the court on behalf of the ECC. The court wanted to know exactly how much it would cost them to purchase the system and how much funding could it rely upon to help pay for the endeavor.

Whittaker told the court at Tuesday’s meeting the NexEdge system would be $543,245 – or less depending on how much the county could sell its old radio system for.

He said Gene Keyser of Homeland Security told him there was approximately $30,000 to $40,000 of funding the county could apply for now and probably get. Any additional funding would have to be applied for in the summer of 2010 which could go towards the purchase of two to three repeater towers that would help the new system reach a broader area.

Whittaker told the court the NexEdge system was a larger wattage system that can work off of the county’s one repeater tower for now.

“I’ve tested the radios and they reach clear to Christian County,” said Whittaker.

“How long will it take to get the new system in once it is purchased?” Magistrate Jo Orange asked.

Whittaker said about three months.