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TMCNet: Austin water tower work affects 911 radio system

[March 12, 2010]

Austin water tower work affects 911 radio system

Mar 10, 2010 (Post-Bulletin - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Austin's water tower on 14th Street Northwest will get a more than $1 million makeover this spring, with crews sandblasting and repainting the light-blue city landmark.

That major project also is causing headaches for Mower County officials, who have to temporarily replace vital equipment for the countywide radio communications system, which serves law enforcement, fire departments and first responders.

Not replacing that equipment during the three-month water tower project would create issues for all emergency agencies in Mower County, Sheriff Terese Amazi said.

On Tuesday, the Mower County Board approved spending about $32,211 to buy equipment to help create the temporary setup on top of the Twin Towers apartments in downtown Austin.

An estimated $106,000 more in expenses for other aspects of the relocation work are targeted by county officials to be joint or shared costs with the city of Austin. Those expenses might be lower after upcoming discussions with city and utilities officials.

County officials will use their contingency funds for unforeseen expenses to pay for the equipment and work.

The radio equipment needs to be taken down from the water tower by mid-April at the latest, Amazi said. The painting crew says it can't work around the equipment while sandblasting the tower, and it can't guarantee no damage to the devices, Amazi told the board.

About 15 years ago was the last time the 14th Street water tower had similar work, Amazi said.

The same work is planned for next year on the water tower near Ellis Middle School, she said, but that won't create similar issues for the radio system.

Whitewater Wireless is working on the temporary communications setup.

Fire departments will need to be paged in a different way during that painting project, Amazi said, and the system will have a whole new procedure.

Some of the equipment to be purchased can be reused to save the city-county Law Enforcement Center about $5,300 a year by eliminating the need to pay for five phone lines, officials said.

County Coordinator Craig Oscarson said the county first found out about the water tower work last fall, although that project had been scheduled for several years. On top of that, the consultant hired to lead the radio project recently chose to end his work with the county, he said.

Austin Utilities officials weren't available for comment Tuesday.

In December 2007, Mower County authorities launched the new radio system countywide as part of a roughly $2 million project that involved seven years of planning, delays and installation to replace a system from 1972. The county paid for most costs, with the city of Austin sharing a portion.

Even if the county had known earlier about the water tower project, Amazi said afterward, she thinks the 14th Street site still would have been chosen because of its height and no rental or utility costs.

To see more of the Post-Bulletin, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.postbulletin.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.

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