RAVENNA—Three new radio towers to be constructed in the next few months across Portage County will significantly increase the ability of public safety services to respond, communicate in emergencies and save lives thanks to a partnership among local, county and state governments.
The $7 million project to build the Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (MARCS) towers is a collaboration of the Portage County Emergency Management Agency (PC EMA), Portage County Commissioners, Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) MARCS office, James A. Garfield Local Schools, Village of Garrettsville, Ohio Department of Transportation, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Deerfield Township and Suffield Township.
Representatives of the partners attended a groundbreaking event Jan. 22 at one of the radio tower sites on James A. Garfield Local Schools property in Garrettsville Village. The other sites are Ohio Department of Transportation property on State Route 14 in Deerfield Township and Ohio Department of Natural Resources property on Waterloo Road in Suffield Township. The lattice MARCS towers will stand 330 feet tall.
MARCS, a 700/800 MHz digital radio system, is one of the largest publicly owned radio systems in the country. Ninety percent of Portage County public safety agencies, all state agencies and a host of public health and service industries use the MARCS radio system. Statewide, more than 3,000 public safety and service agencies are on MARCS.
Through funding from the Portage County Commissioners and the State of Ohio DAS/MARCS Office, Portage County is experiencing a $7 million upgrade to public safety communications, significantly impacting interoperability, coverage and capacity. With the transition to the MARCS platform, large swaths of radio coverage issues would be resolved in northeast, southeast and southwest Portage County.
Speelman Electric Inc., the contractor selected to erect the towers, is anticipated to complete the project in April. Shortly after, MARCS, in partnership with Motorola, will upgrade all the technology within the towers to a simulcast system. Changing to a simulcast system provides greater extended coverage across a larger geographical area.
The Portage County Emergency Management Agency (PC EMA) operates within the realm of public safety and is tasked with the overall preparedness and resiliency mission of Portage County before, during and after disaster incidents. You can learn more about PC EMA at https://www.portagecounty-oh.gov/emergency-management-agency.
Photo Caption: Officials from Portage County and James A. Garfield Local Schools turn over the first shovels of dirt for a $7 million construction project to build three Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) towers in the county. The project is funded by County Commissioners and the Ohio Department of Administrative Services/MARCS Office. On hand for the ceremony on school property were, left to right: Portage County Emergency Management Agency Director Ryan Shackelford, Portage County Commissioner Sabrina Christian-Bennett, Portage County Commissioner Anthony J. Badalamenti, Garfield Superintendent Ted Lysiak and Board members Deral White and David Vincent. The other tower sites are in Deerfield and Suffield townships.