Four years later, Nanticoke still lacks reliable 911 radio coverage, officials say

Home News Four years later, Nanticoke still lacks reliable 911 radio coverage, officials say Facebook Twitter Pinterest Linkedin ReddIt Email Print By Jennifer Learn-Andes [email protected] The Luzerne County 911 Center on Young Street in Hanover Township. Times Leader File Photo 🔊 Listen to this Nanticoke does not have the blanketed emergency radio coverage promised from a Luzerne County 911 digital communication system upgrade activated in 2022, officials said. County Manager Romilda Crocamo said the county has been focused on resolving the issue. Motorola Solutions Inc., which was awarded the radio system contract, was contractually bound to ensure the county has 95% emergency radio coverage, 95% of the time, county officials said in previously published reports. “Luzerne County is working with Motorola Solutions on an agreement to finalize the county’s emergency radio communications project and secure the highest level of coverage for the Nanticoke area,” Crocamo said Monday. “Reliable radio communication is not optional. When a police officer, firefighter, or EMT keys a radio, that call must go through, every time. The county will not consider this project complete until that standard is met, and we are holding the project to it,” she said. Fully activated in November 2022, the radio upgrade project included additional communication towers in new locations, improved microwaves and the replacement of a 20-year-old analog radio system with a new digital one for law enforcement and emergency responders to exchange messages. It aimed to correct spotty or nonexistent emergency radio coverage throughout the 906-square-mile county, end radio interference, and open up more radio channels for responders. Nanticoke Fire Chief Mark Boncal said the interiors of most commercial buildings in the city do not have radio reception on the new digital system. As a result, firefighters must switch to an analog channel inside these buildings to speak to each other, he said. Unlike channels on the digital system, this analog one cannot be monitored by the county 911 center, he said. In such situations, the incident commander stationed outside must separately convey chatter from the analog channel to 911, he said. Certain areas outside buildings also have signal loss, Boncal said. Reception improved greatly at one point after temporary equipment was placed on a cell tower in the Honey Pot section, Boncal said. However, Boncal said he was informed that equipment had to be removed because an agreement could not be reached with the tower owner, which meant a return to coverage issues. Boncal said he has been in regular communication with the county and is optimistic a solution will be reached. “We make it work, but we shouldn’t have to go through hoops to do this,” Boncal said. “We shouldn’t have to have these issues.” The county administration has referenced the ongoing negotiation with Motorola in monthly division head reports, including a more recent update stating Nanticoke tower site locations are being negotiated. Crocamo said both sides are discussing additional site work, equipment upgrades, in-building coverage, and testing. “We will share details once the agreement is finalized,” Crocamo said. “Public safety in every corner of Luzerne County remains this administration’s top priority.” The county had planned digital radio software enhancements funded by a portion of the county’s federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, including a safety feature that would allow the GPS location of responders to be tracked when they are out in the field. Because of the pending negotiations and the target to complete American Rescue projects by the end of this year, the administration is seeking County Council approval Tuesday for project scope changes. Specifically, the American Rescue funding for 911, which totals $2.9 million, would instead largely cover “hardening” of the 911 system through work that includes the replacement of generators and uninterruptible power supplies at various remote tower sites and the 911 center in Hanover Township, the administration said. This change will address needed work and ensure the funding is not lost because of delays, the administration said. Excluding the American Rescue allocation, the completed system was set at about $25 million, including 20 years of support and maintenance and more than $8 million in Motorola mobile and portable equipment for police and other emergency responders, prior reporting said. The system also included base-station mobile radios with a panic button in every school. While there are issues in Nanticoke, some other areas have reported better clarity and reception compared to the old system. Emphasizing the Nanticoke coverage problems must be addressed, Boncal said he understands reception is a challenge in the city because its “terrain is unique.” “Even when we had the old analog system, we still had issues with reception then,” he said. Nanticoke Police Chief Michael L. Roke said a tower is likely needed for the city if the temporary equipment on the cell tower cannot be restored and properly situated. Reception improves in the winter with no foliage on trees, he said. Still, Roke said the new digital system is “working well,” and he commended the county for training supplied in the transition. “Overall, I like the digital system much better. Technology is something you need to embrace,” Roke said. Tuesday’s council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for the remote attendance option are posted in council’s online public meetings section at luzernecounty.org . 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