And that second phase is taking shape.

The original proposal was all inclusive – it overhauled the radio system but also included replacing the county’s pager system, addressing siren issues and filling gaps where radio towers are concerned.

“Phase two was never acted upon,” Public Safety Director Ken McCorrison said, as those other elements were “carved out of that original project.”

McCorrison recently presented a study conducted by Capital Area Communications that identified those gaps. It pulled together expert-level data to present the county with a complete picture of what phase two will include.

Warren County’s emergency radio system currently operates on towers that have been deemed “structurally deficient.” A $5.2 million project has been proposed to complete an all-inclusive radio system upgrade proposal.

He said the study assessed the current system, looked at future needs as well as interoperability, the idea that departments, agencies and even states be able to communicate with each other.

“Everything radio-related was assessed,” he added.

The outgrowth of that effort is a $5.2 million project that McCorrison described as “all inclusive” but for the potential cost of property acquisition for new tower sites.

He explained that the Transit Authority of Warren County is seeking $2 million in grant funds to assist with the project and said the county is “looking at other grant funding opportunities.”

Some of the gaps in the county’s coverage map are known, especially areas like Sugar Grove and Scandia that approach the New York State line.

Times Observer photos by Josh Cotton State-owned towers like this one have been opened to county emergency planners for the location of county radio equipment.

“We have to be very careful we don’t interfere with another state,” McCorrison said. “The other portion of that is interoperability with the surrounding counties which is so appropriate. We send units to other counties. Other counties send units into ours.

“(They) need to be able to talk to each other. This assessment addresses those needs.”

There will be paths to save by being a good neighbor.

“The state has offered up several structures,” McCorrison said, as well as equipment – including generators – and access to mount county resources on existing state towers.

The county’s older tower sites, some of which can be described as “structurally deficient,” are connected by copper lines instead of fiber or microwave. That presents functionality issues whenever it rains. But the county is also paying for that connectivity and, ideally, will be able to cut copper connectivity out of the system with this project.

“(We are) paying several thousand a month in copper connectivity,” he said.

“We have some structurally deficient towers,” he added, along with “opportunities to partner with some other agencies and share the cost for the greater good.”

The plan includes the county vacating a couple of its existing tower sites and is looking at developing three new tower sites.

Pagers might seem like out-dated technology in 2024 but McCorrison explained that NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) standards must be met to notify responders, including when cell phone coverage may be down.

“It is a failsafe to some degree,” he said.

The pagers are also important, he said, because the pager system is what sets off the all-hazard sirens at each fire station.

With the review of the system in hand, county officials plan to get this project on the move.

“This has to be done right now,” McCorrison said. “The project has a very aggressive timeline” with the garget of finding the “best fit that gave us the most coverage.”

He estimated a life span of at least 15 years on the completed system.

“There are things that just need to be replaced,” McCorrison stressed. “This stuff was ‘end of life’ years ago.”