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Town Council approves payment for a two-site radio system owned by the city of Lewisville
STEPHEN FASHORO, Staff Writer
The town of Flower Mound will pay the city of Lewisville $329,661 to the use its soon-to- be upgraded 800 megahertz radio system.
Lewisville’s radio system is in the process of being upgraded to a two-site simulcast radio system. This means that Lewisville will have two radio towers that will be used to as a means of communication within town’s and cities.
Currently, the city of Lewisville is operating off of one radio tower located at FM 340 and Rockbrook Drive.
“There are several communities that use our radio system. This includes, Flower Mound, Coppell, Highland Village, Lake Dallas and Lake Cities Fire Department. What we provide for these areas is a radio tower that they can use to broadcast and communicate,” said Joni Eddy, Lewisville assistant police chief.
The use of a radio system is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s plan to have cities and towns in the metroplex implement a radio system to communicate effectively.
The system is primarily used by the police and fire departments as means of communication. Other departments such as Lewisville’s Parks and Public Services Department also use the radio system to communicate among each other.
Residents of all the communities involved are not allowed to use the system.
“Each community pays for the use of the system based on how many radios they operate on the system,” Eddy said.
The second radio tower will be placed in Rockledge Park which is located in Grapevine. It is expected to be operational by January.
Eddy explained how an officer or firefighter would use the radio system on any given day.
“When an officer or firefighter keys (presses a talk button) up their radio, a signal is sent to the tower. The officers and firefighters use the frequency to communicate with their department. The problem right now is that there are spots in some these communities where their radios can not operate because they can’t receive a signal,” Eddy said.
In Flower Mound, one of the main problems that the police and fire officials have been dealing with is communicating in the western portion of town, according to Paul Boon, Police Department Spokesperson.
“There are areas out there where we can’t communicate because of the hilly terrain. Also, communication is harder out there because we are farther away from the tower,” he said.
Things like this can cause be a problem especially if an officer of firefighter is in an emergency situation and needs to communicate with a dispatcher.
According to Eddy, the upgrade will provide better coverage because the location of the second tower will be closer to all of the communities. The new tower will also provide all the communities with a back-up tower to use in case there is any type equipment failure occurs.
“With this tower, the communities will have a better signal. When the signal is sent now, it will pole (connect) to the tower that provides the best signal,” Eddy said.
Contact staff writer Stephen Fashoro at 972-628-4077 or at sfashoro@acnpapers.com.
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