New County Radio System to Address Communication Issues Highlighted by Recent Wildfires

Recent wildfires in Payne County exposed critical communication gaps that the county's new radio system will address when it becomes operational later this year. The system, which has been in development for two years, promises to make a significantly improve communications during large-scale emergency situations.

"With the past fires that have happened over the week, this new radio system for in-county communication would have made a night and day difference during these fires," Director of Payne County Emergency Management Pierce Taylor said. "There were issues with Yale's radio system going down and then at one point the tri-county radio system had a loss of communication as well."

Commissioners also acknowledge the community's response to recent wildfires that affected parts of the county. The Red Cross has established a shelter at the county fairgrounds, where eight evacuees remain.

"From this past weekend saw a lot of people doing a lot of good work out there," Commissioner Seth Condley said. "The people, the connections and all the fire... like everybody was doing something. We’re pretty blessed."

Commissioner Rhonda Markum, whose district includes affected areas in southwest Stillwater, pledges to check on constituents and assess the damage. Markum also expresses concern about unused resources during the emergency response.

"I have several of most of these houses that was in southwest Stillwater. Those are my constituents," Markum said. "I want it to be known they can call me. I will be making rounds to see what the damage is."

The commissioners expect an after-action review of the emergency response to identify areas for improvement in future incidents.

County-wide radio system on target for completion by Christmas

Stanley Shook, the outgoing Motorola project manager, reports significant progress on the radio system implementation. The county has secured most site agreements, with equipment already being installed at several locations.

"We anticipate cutover at Stillwater to the new system in the mid-April, late April time frame," Shook said. "I would think we'll be somewhat operational August, September and then go into fourth quarter with final testing and trying to raise the system by Christmas time."

The radio system will create a microwave ring between all RF sites and improve connectivity between the county's three dispatch centers. Robert Brown will take over as the new Motorola project manager when Shook retires at the end of March.

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Commissioners table east side development plat

Commissioners also approved road names for a new 83-lot housing development called Pistol Ridge, located at Union Road and Highway 51. The development raises concerns about water availability, as each lot will rely on individual wells rather than rural water service.

Buck Scifres, Land Development Manager at Block One Communities, assures commissioners that test wells have yielded adequate water supply.

"We've drilled three test wells out there I believe and all test wells yielded 3 to 5 gallons per minute," Scifres said. "Each lot will have their own well and I mean the individuals have to systems."

Commissioner Markum expresses concern about the impact of so many wells drawing from the same aquifer. "I'm concerned with this many houses coming out of the same aquifer," she said.

Scifres explains that rural water service was considered but couldn't adequately serve the entire development. "We try to pursue rural water. Unfortunately, they were only able to service half the lot count," Scifres said.

The commissioners approved eight of nine proposed road names, requesting a change to "Tumbleweed Pass" to avoid confusion with an existing location.

"Everybody that lives around here knows Tumbleweed is on the west side of town. And if an emergency call is put out and it says Tumbleweed, people I think are automatically going to want to think west of town," Commissioner Zach Cavett said.

Commissioners tabled the plat request while the developer agreed to submit a new name for consideration at the next meeting.

Commissioners accept quote for courthouse roof project

In other business, commissioners move forward with a $225,282.40 quote from Coryell Roofing to replace the courthouse roof system, excluding the jail area. The new roof will come with a 30-year warranty.

"I think it would be beneficial just to replace it all and we know when it's been done," Cavett said, noting the building continues to experience leaks.

The roof replacement could be funded through the county's American Rescue Plan Act funds, with the specific allocation to be determined at a future budget board meeting.