(Elyria) The Lorain County Board of Commissioners has approved a new countywide emergency radio network system to the tune of $27 million dollars over twenty years with Motorola. Board Commission President Dave Moore says the State of Ohio will contribute $10 million dollars to the agreement, leaving the remaining $17 million dollars for the county. The decision comes despite opposition from the county's police and fire chief's associations, in addition to Lorain County Sheriff Phil Stammitti. They say the new MARCS system doesn't work well inside buildings. Moore says the MARCS system integrates well with other state and federal agencies, like the Ohio Highway Patrol, ODOT, and the U. S. Coast Guard, among others.
The radio controversy began last year when the current board, made up of Moore, Jeff Riddell, and Michelle Hung, voted 2 to 1 to rescind an agreement approved a month earlier by the previous board with Cleveland Communications, for the L3 Harris system. Some communities in Lorain County have gone out and forged their own deals with CCI for the L3 Harris radios. Moore says the nice thing about the MARCS system is that it allows each community to choose whatever radios they want.
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