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Owensboro upgrading emergency radio system

By Ben Garbarek - bio | email | Twitter

OWENSBORO, KY (WFIE) - A key component for the city's emergency radio system will no longer be made in the next eight years.  The city says it was already looking to upgrade the system, but want the federal government to help pay for it.

The city will apply for a $405,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security to pay for the project.

"This was a plan we were already on track to," said City Manager Bill Parrish.  "This is a plan we committed dollars to but if we can get federal dollars in the pay for that we can use our local dollars for other purposes."

The new system will allow emergency responders from eight surrounding counties to talk directly to one another.

"Now responders, public safety, EMA, can speak among each other no matter what type of radio system they have," said Ronald Jackson, Information Services.  "You don't have that limitation and go through a dispatcher and needlessly waste minutes and hours."

The city says this is something it will have to do sooner or later.

"We're going to have to do it," said Jackson.  "If we want too long then we're up against the curb and we could make bad decisions at that time so let's spread it out and give some planning to this and in eight years we'll have a system we can be proud of."

Owensboro Police Chief Glenn Skeens says the new system could be up in running in about a year. The project will cost a total of 1.8 million dollars.