NEW KENT — New Kent County’s Board of Supervisors has voted to upgrade its aging emergency radio communications system at a cost of over $2.1 million.
County Administrator Rodney Hathaway told the board on Sept. 29 that the county signed the agreement for its current radio system in 2015, then went live the following year.
The L3Harris radio system supports “critical public safety communications for both New Kent and Charles City Counties,” the county stated in a report.
“We have a radio system that’s 10 years old now … it’s not just equipment, it’s not just radio. That’s just a portion of the system. It is supported primarily by software. We have software that’s 10 years old,” Hathaway said. “In this day and time, there’s a lot of changes to software over that time period.”
Hathaway said it’s getting difficult to find support for the existing equipment because it’s so dated. The upgrade would boost cybersecurity and ensure a more stable and reliable system.
The county administrator said the upgrade entails a “big cost,” but the county has anticipated it and has set aside about $1.5 million to fund the project. He sought permission from the board to transfer an additional $647,000 to finance the upgrade.
Hathaway said the county is nearing completion of its new animal shelter and has a “significant amount” of contingency funding left over, potentially $500,000. The county has about $120,000 available from Charles City County, which shares the radio system. He said the upgrade would become more expensive if the county waits.
The L3Harris contract contains an option for Charles City County to also upgrade its system.
Vice Chair Ron Stiers said the county “made a great decision” to sign a contract with L3Harris a decade ago and recommended that it be upgraded.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to transfer the money from the capital fund balance.
David Macaulay, Davidmacaulayva@gmail.com
