By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
The Sullivan County Commissioners voted to approve the purchase of 52 radios for the Unity Campus Radio System during their meeting on Monday afternoon.
Department of Corrections Superintendent Shawn Coughlan met with the board, where he discussed the replacement radio procurement that would amount to $47,764 in spending. The positive vote authorized Coughlan to carry out the purchase with Burlington Communications out of Williston, Vermont.
The procurement includes 40 radios for the Department of Corrections, and 12 others for maintenance. This also includes a repeater and an antenna to help with communications on campus, Coughlan told the board. County Manager Derek Ferland asked if this will help with communication from the “bowels of the jail” to the nursing home, and Coughlan said it would. He also said it was tested out by the company during their visit.
Facilities and Operations Director Mary Bourque said this will help with campus emergency radio contact. If a campus-wide emergency took place, the radios could be used for alerts.
“Communication is important in an incident,” said Commissioner Joe Osgood.
Coughlan and Bourque agreed, and Commissioner Bennie Nelson replied, “Absolutely.”
Nelson said if something happened in the nursing home, the DOC are essentially the first responders. He asked how this would work, and Coughlan said they would call the control center that is manned 24 hours. The general idea would be to give them two radios, but the fine details have not been worked out yet.
Bourque said this will help the nursing home staff be able to call over to the DOC. There will be a partnership with the DOC to call the dispatch line, and a person in dispatch would call the appropriate facilities personnel. She said this will help the nursing home staff be more comfortable calling the DOC in necessary scenarios.
Coughlan, as well as Bourque, spoke highly about Burlington Communications and what they had to offer.
“This firm out of Williston gave us the most comprehensive price and also came out and walked the site,” Bourque said.
