— A tower designed to upgrade Wagoner County’s E911 Center is in its final phase of bidding.

Wagoner County E911 coordinator Judy Elliot said that with bidding for the first three phases complete, the final stage is for “the people who actually stack the tower together.”

“We’re getting there,” she said. “It’s pretty exciting.”

Elliot said it’s a 21-day bid, after which E911 administrators will speak with county commissioners to complete the bid.

The tower will allow Wagoner County E911 to begin the transition from the 150 megahertz (MHz) system it’s on now to the more powerful 800 MHz system.

The change is much needed, Wagoner County Sheriff Bob Colbert said.

Elliot said the sheriff’s office would be the system’s “biggest user.”

Colbert said: “It’s probably going to bring us out of the dark ages, honestly. It’s going to speed up calls and increase officer safety. Our radio system we’re on now has been so terrible for so many years.”

Colbert said it wasn’t that long ago that a deputy would request assistance, and another deputy just a block away couldn’t receive the transmission.

“I’d say nine out of 10 times, our transmissions are just static, where you can’t make anything out,” he said. “If they’re asking for help, you can’t hear it.”

Elliot said the tower would be built in the Yonkers area of Wagoner County.

“A propagation study showed the tower was needed in that area,” she said. “And the cool thing is, people in that area have never had good cell phone coverage, and we’ve saved some spots on that tower for companies to rent a space on the tower. That would help pay for the tower.”

Elliot said she hopes to see the transition to the 800 MHz system take place this year, but no official timeline has been released.

When the system does switch over, she said, county police and fire departments will have plenty of time to purchase radios for the transition.

“We’ll be running both the 150 megahertz and 800 megahertz systems until everyone has the proper equipment for the 800,” Elliot said.

Those radios, she said, cost from $1,000 to $5,000.

“But there are grants available,” she said. “The bottom line is no one will be turned out. We won’t turn the 150 off until everyone is ready.”   

Reach Dylan Goforth at (918) 684-2903 or dgoforth@muskogeephoenix.com.