Sheriff’s department suffers radio communication woes
The Presque Isle County Sheriff?s Department continues to have problems with its radio equipment, which, at times, have created unsafe situations for the public and officers. Long-serving officers say communication in certain areas of the county, such as Grand Lake and Onaway, have been a concern for three decades, but only recently has the situation become more serious. The list of problems with the equipment increases almost on a daily basis ? for a multitude of reasons.
OVER THE WEEKEND, the whole system broke down, according to sheriff Terry Flewelling, forcing the department to communicate on the county-wide repeater. Flewelling said a technician was called in, but couldn?t respond because a part had to be ordered. While the system is being fixed, officers and dispatchers have struggled to communicate.
Dispatcher Ann Marie Buczkowski, working in the dispatcher center at the sheriff?s department Monday, said there have been times when officers haven?t been heard from for five to 20 minutes because the equipment doesn?t respond. ?We?ve had several times where there have been delays before we were able to find the officer. They?ll be calling us and we won?t hear them at all,? said Buczkowski, a nine-year employee.
?We have nothing coming across our console, or sometimes we call them, they don?t hear us coming across. It?s progressively gotten worse the past couple of weeks.? ?The main concern ? the safety of the officers, and also the citizens,? said Flewelling. ?If they call in a complaint, they expect service from us to be there, and if there is no communication back and forth, it really becomes a problem.? If the situation isn?t resolved in the near future, a grievance may be filed by the union.
FLEWELLING SAID technicians from State Electronics have worked on the radio system ? it works for a while ? but then the problems resurface days later. ?It?s one big mess,? said Flewelling. Part of the problem has been the tower at the sheriff?s department building in Rogers City. Last summer the tower suffered a direct lightning strike. The electrical surge, which went through the building, damaged much of the electronic equipment in the dispatcher center.
This included the operation of the jail door and recording equipment, which is still not working properly. Over the year since the strike, equipment has been replaced, but new items haven?t been compatible, so additional upgrades were required. Flewelling said bills have been submitted to the insurance carrier, but claims are no longer being accepted.
?I don?t know how many times we have sent bills,? said Flewelling. Members of the public health and safety committee of the county commission also have said crews have refused to climb the tower because it is rusting and in need of replacing.
WITH THE county receiving grant funding from FEMA for the purchase of emergency equipment, department officials have explored the idea of replacing the tower, and have confirmed that they can use some of the funds, which have reached nearly $100,000 since September 11, 2001, to purchase a new tower at a price of approximately $30,000. The tower in Rogers City has been only part of the problem, as the county still has several ?dead spots,? where communication drops off. State Electronics has been working on installing a repeater in the Onaway area. The equipment is set up and ready to go and would have been running a couple of weeks ago but a module was damaged while being shipped. Another module was located in Montmorency County, but
?I don?t know how long it?s going to be,? said Flewelling of when it would be working. ?If that would take care of our radio problems over in that end of the county, then we are going to put one down in the Posen-Grand Lake area, to hopefully take care of the whole county. ?Hopefully it will get fixed, but I?ve been saying that for quite a while now.?
Commissioners also have been concerned about the responsiveness of State Electronics, and have gone to a party from Traverse City, which declined the county?s offer to check out the equipment.
One commissioner said phone calls with State Electronics have not been returned, and attempts to hold meetings to discuss the problems have failed to initiate face-to-face discussions.