Piscataquis County emergency radio system project progresses

DOVER-FOXCROFT — For more than four years Piscataquis County and municipal emergency officials have been working to update outdated infrastructure and long-running problems with the county’s radio communications for emergency personnel. After delays due to questions on funding sources, the endeavor is now being overseen by a 6-member committee. 

There also is a 15-member subcommittee including town managers, fire chiefs, police department members, emergency medical service providers, and representatives of CPKC Railroad.

The Piscataquis County Commissioners heard an update from Piscataquis County Emergency Management Director Debra Hamlin during a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 5. She said consultant Normand Boucher of Communications Design Consulting Group of Barrington, New Hampshire will speak at the next commissioners meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19 and the committee will be meeting before then to discuss any potential changes.

Mentioning towers across the region in a report from Boucher, Hamlin said the structure at the Greenville Municipal Airport is unsafe and will be replaced by a new tower in a different location. Greenville would own the land and lease it to the county for a nominal fee, as Town Manager Mike Roy is working on a contract between the municipality and the county.

Boucher said a MEMA mobile tower could be used until the new one is ready, potentially for a 3-month timeframe, but plans are still being coordinated.

Hamlin said the tower in Monson is in need of replacement as is the shelter and generator, but there would be no monthly lease/rental fee at this site.

“The proposed new site in Guilford, we are meeting with the landowner who is open to the project,” she said. “It will cost approximately $600,000 for the road construction, tower, shelter, generator, and gate.” 

Hamlin said the Schoodic Lake tower is in need of a generator.

For the Moose Mountain and Sebec towers, “They are all set as far as equipment, there’s no monthly fee for Moose but we already pay a fee — a $400 monthly fee — for the Sebec tower and it’s expected to increase,” she said.

“The tower at the jail and sheriff’s office has limited capacity and will need a structural analysis before any work is done,” the EMA director said.

Hamlin said Chuck Wassel of Valley Brook Electric services the county-owned generators and a contract is being drafted to service all the generators when the project is completed.

Boucher plans to release the tower request for proposals by the end of December. “He’s already submitted the required forms to the FAA for the proposed construction of the new tower in Greenville,” Hamlin said.

Last year $4.2 million for the radio project was part of a U.S. Senate Appropriations bill championed by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. The award was the largest of seven projects included in the part of the legislation that would give $7.6 million to police and other public safety agencies in Maine.

County commissioners paid Communications Design Consulting Group $27,000 for a feasibility study on radio communications, which was first presented in November 2021. 

Before the feasibility study, Boucher spent months meeting with members of area fire and police departments and toured sites around the region, including locations of about a dozen transmitters throughout Piscataquis County. Many of the problems stem from the hilly and mountainous terrain of the region and/or aging and out of date infrastructure.

Boucher said the 2021 project recommendations included replacing end-of-life equipment, eliminating interference, and updating technology to meet current public safety standards; expand the system by reconfiguring and adding additional transmitter sites to ensure reliable handheld portable radio coverage; convert base stations to repeater operation to facilitate easier communications between dispatch and end users across the region; and provide a microwave radio system to interconnect all sites with the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center.

Boucher previously said instead of constructing new towers for improved coverage, new sites were selected based on — in order — preferred use of town- or county-owned sites with no fees, private tower sites with no incurred fees, and commercial tower companies where monthly fees are incurred. He said some sites, such as the jail, may require replacement towers or upgrades.

The next steps include finalizing the conceptual system design with the committee based on the latest technology and knowledge, begin negotiations with site owners, develop procurement specifications for all system elements under a single bid (assigning one contractor to build the entire system), and enter the bidding process to select the best-qualified contractor. The estimated timeline for systems completion is 24 months.

In other business, the commissioners heard from Manda Stewart of the Piscataquis Area Community Center for an update on the new organization’s efforts to open at the former Piscataquis Regional YMCA facility at 48 Park Street in Dover-Foxcroft. 

At the beginning of October the Old Town Orono YMCA Board of Directors announced that operations at the PRYMCA would be closing by Nov. 1 with financial reasons cited for the facility closure. The PRYMCA has been in operation since 1988.

In July 2022 the board of directors of the Dover-Foxcroft-based organization and the Old Town Orono YMCA formally voted to integrate as one organization. For almost two years prior the Old Town Orono YMCA had been providing leadership to the PRYMCA through a temporary management agreement. In the 2-plus years since then the PRYMCA operated as a branch of the Old Town Orono YMCA.

The PRYMCA has an approximately $668,000 endowment with the Maine Community Foundation. The mortgage and the deed are both in the name of the PRYMCA.

Stewart, who was the PRYMCA branch manager, said Old Town Orono YMCA officials have an agreement to work with the Piscataquis Area Community Center exclusively for the next 30 days “to try and have a plan that works for both sides.” She said a list was given for items to go into a business plan.

Donations for the Piscataquis Area Community Center are going very well, Stewart said.

“At the moment (Rep. Chad Perkins, R-Dover-Foxcroft) has secured us a temporary office space right on Main Street in the former chiropractor’s office right next to the movie theater,” she said about 48 East Main Street. Financial contributions can be dropped off here or those wanting to learn more can do so in person.

There is also an email list through paccmaine@gmail.com and a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PACCmaine.

“Things have kind of slowed down with the public so we are putting another push out for people to send out letters to the editor, letters to the Old Town Orono board so we don’t lose momentum there,” Stewart said.

Commissioners Chair Andy Torbett say they are supportive but have not made any financial commitment.

“In fairness to everyone, we run the budget for the county pretty tight,” he said. Torbett said the county is blessed to have the departments and personnel that it does.

“That’s not to say we’re not going to be able to find any funds, but we’re also not going to shortchange our departments,” the commissioners chair said.

“Going forward we’re still committed to supporting you and we’re just going to see what we can do,” Torbett said.