First Responders Get Radio Boost in North Mobile County

Posted on: Nov 8th, 2010 | News and Announcements

First responders who have had to cope with erratic radio service in north Mobile County will get a boost, literally, when Mobile County throws the switch on what will be the county?s largest radio communications tower at a ceremony tomorrow with MOWA Tribal leaders. The MOWA Tribal Nation, represented by Chief Wilford ?Long Hair? Taylor, along with county agencies, will join together for the dedication of the MOWA Radio Tower Site at 10 a.m. Tuesday, November 9 at the MOWA Tribal Council Facility, 1080 Red Fox Road, Mount Vernon. ?It is essential that we have faultless radio communications for public safety,? said Mobile County Commission President Merceria Ludgood, who represents the north Mobile County area. The Commission President will do the honors of throwing the switch for the new, 850-foot county tower. The tower project is an example of Mobile County governmental agencies and the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians working together to enhance the mission-critical radio communications for north Mobile County. In addition to the Mobile County Commission, the partnership includes the Mobile County Communications District, which operates the 9-1-1 emergency communications system. The north county area has been relying on towers in Citronelle and the Salco Road area, but communications have faltered in some of the low-lying areas. ?The County has always taken a leadership role in developing the countywide two-way radio system because it is a critical part of public safety,? said Commissioner Mike Dean. ?Every municipality in Mobile County is offered the use of our communications network free of charge.? The county financed a $2.2 million radio system in the 800-megaHertz frequency band in 1992. Besides most of the cities in the county, the network also is used by numerous state and federal agencies, Mobile County departments, the Mobile County Sheriff?s Office and Mobile County EMS. It also is used by the Town of McIntosh, the City of Daphne and Harrison County, MS. ?Our partnership on the tower is an example of governmental units sharing costs to deliver services,? said Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson. ?It?s a model we can use in the future.? The Mobile County Communications District paid $150,000 to the MOWA Indians for the radio tower; by comparison, the cost to build an 850-foot tower would have been more in the neighborhood of $1 million, according to Mobile County Public Works Director Joe Ruffer. For its part, the Mobile County Public Works Department cleared the site, built the road to the tower and upgraded the existing transmitter building. The MOWA Radio Tower Site will be dedicated to all first responders.