OTTUMWA —
Just when you think you’ve figured things out, the federal government steps in.
The Wapello County Board of Supervisors and other county leaders have worked for weeks on finding a new place for the communications tower. They found a place and needed someone to handle the details.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the board approved an agreement with RACOM to be the technical advisor on the Wapello County Communications Tower.
Wapello County Sheriff Don Kirkendall and Emergency Management Coordinator Josh Stevens also attended the meeting and advised the board members that the federal government will switch to using narrow-band radio.
“By Jan. 1, anyone using government frequencies has to use narrow-band communication,” Stevens said.
He also noted the county is taking steps now so they can re-program all the radio equipment the county uses at the same time.
Kirkendall said the federal government switched to narrow band several months ago. When they did, the county’s radio communication was terrible for the fire and secondary roads departments.
The sheriff said his officers recently responded to a call about a rural burglary.
“We caught them after we chased them off the road and down a steep ravine,” Kirkendall said. “They took several items, but we recovered everything but the handgun.”
Kirkendall also noted he called his 6 p.m. deputy in early to help with the burglary call.
“But here’s the problem. During that time, all the officers were more than one-quarter of a mile apart,” he said. “Narrow band doesn’t let us talk, and the secondary roads crew will experience the same.”
Kirkendall said he’s tempted to give up on narrow band and said the sheriff’s system can be digital. The county would need a digital repeater and the 911 Board is checking into the purchase.
“This would eliminate our communication problems,” he added.
Ottumwa Police Department also has some problems and plans to go digital, according to the sheriff. When using their radio equipment, city police officers often find “dead spots” in their transmissions from the city’s west end, south Ottumwa and eastern Ottumwa.
Kirkendall also said narrow band is a safety issue for fire and emergency medical services departments.
“If we go off the road, we can’t talk on the radio,” he said.
The tower has been on top of the former St. Joseph Hospital for years, but Ottumwa Regional Health Center has plans to raze the building in the near future.
Board members and law enforcement officials have worked together and found a suitable high-point location for the tower.
Local News
Communication tower is ready, now band to change
Federal government switching to narrow-band radio
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