An upgrade of the almost two decade old system is planned for 2019.
That’s what Steve Bolland, the Director of Public Works and Engineering, is hoping to see happen. He says the current equipment is almost 20 years old. “It’s getting close to the end of its useful life expectancy,” Bolland says. He goes on to say, “technology has changed and that technology needs to be reviewed and upgraded to keep in touch with what the changes in technology are.”
Bolland says a request for proposals will be put out to find a vendor to facilitate the work. He adds that some of the 18 municipalities in Renfrew County won’t be able to upgrade their system right away. That means the vendor chosen will need to be able to work with the old analog system as well as the new digital system. Bolland says this is called a “Multi-Plex” system. “The cost to replace all the radio systems and all of the fire apparatuses around the County of Renfrew that’s owned and operated by the local municipalities is quite high,” he says.
Bolland says right now, he’s unsure what exact improvements will be made with the new system. That will be decided through the RFP process, he says.
The next steps, Bolland says, are bringing this to County council. They will need to authorize the funding in the 2019 budget that will allow this project to move forward. “How quickly that will happen will depend on the nature of the responses from the request for proposals,” he says.
In the meantime, the current system will be monitored and maintained. “Currently the system is in good shape so there aren’t any safety issues with the system,” Bolland says.