St. Croix County outlines phased plan to move communications tower and upgrade radios; bids, permits could take years

A county staff member identified as Terry gave a multi-phase update on a county communications effort to place a tower on land owned by Saint Croix Electric, repurpose equipment from a Hammond site, and procure new microwave and tower equipment.

Terry said Phase 1 will involve creating multiple bid packages for civil work, fencing, shelters and microwave equipment and that preparing, receiving and selecting bids will take approximately nine months. He added that the implementation phase will take about two years once permits and procurement are complete, and that several permit processes for new sites could each take a year.

On cost and inventory, Terry said a "2 band radio nowadays is $11,000 for a portable radio" and that county departments hold about 420 radios while fire and EMS systems together have roughly 1,400 radios. The county plans to survey end users to better estimate radio needs before finalizing bid quantities and to pursue grant funding where possible to reduce costs.