A proposed new municipal public safety radio system going before council Monday night is coming in under the previously approved budget.
Council will vote on awarding the contracts for the work associated with the Municipal Public Safety Radio Communication proposal for a commitment of $17 million over ten years.
Chatham-Kent’s public safety radio communications equipment, used by first responders, has been in service for over 25 years. According to the report being presented Monday night, “the current network infrastructure has deficiencies that need to be corrected to close gaps in network availability for its first-responder users.”
Thames Communications Ltd. presented the lowest bid for completing system infrastructure including designing, building, transition, operations, administration, and maintenance services at a cost of $9,746,739.79 over ten years.
Motorola Solutions Canada proposed $7,417,372.48 for equipment supply and system.
Administration is also recommending council approve a nine per cent contingency and additional municipal expenses of $761,850.13 be available in the case of contract amendments.
The municipality will fund the radio system by borrowing internally from its telecom reserve, and paying the money back with interest at four per cent over the next 15 years funded through the new lifecycle allocation approved in the 2024–2027 Budget.