Van Zandt County, Kilgore and others awarded grants for emergency radio infrastructure

Published 3:45 pm Wednesday, December 11, 2024

From Staff Reports

The East Texas Council of Governments will disburse $1.75 million in grants to help improve emergency radio infrastructure, including to the City of Kilgore, Rains and Van Zandt counties, and others.

Funded through Texas State House Bill 442 and administered by the Governor’s Public Safety Office, ETCOG said the State Emergency Radio Infrastructure program will support four key projects to improve current capabilities and address significant communication gaps.

The City of Kilgore received $220,000 for TxWARN integration. The City of Kilgore recently joined the TxWARN system alongside Gregg County and the City of Longview. The grant will help them upgrade their consoles to fully integrate their services into TxWARN.

Harrison County received $750,000 to help expand its TxWARN system to address a communication dead spot between Harrison and Gregg counties. A new Motorola tower will be established to enhance coverage for both counties and make it accessible for TxDOT use, ETCOG said.

Rains County will upgrade its VHF System with a total of $600,000. ETCOG said Rains County’s current VHF system is experiencing severe operability issues, hindering communication between officers and dispatch. Two new Motorola tower locations with improved height and coverage, along with new repeater equipment, are planned.

Van Zandt County will use $180,000 to enhance its interoperability. Van Zandt County currently operates a radio system with L3Harris. This project will upgrade all five repeaters across its towers to improve interoperability with its volunteer fire departments and other agencies.

In Harrison County, officials see the grant as a crucial step in achieving a long-term goal of modernizing communication systems. Harrison County Judge Chad Sims reflected on the progress made over the past two years in a press release.

“A little over two years ago, leadership in Harrison County and the City of Marshall embarked on a multi-million-dollar journey to modernize and revitalize aging communications systems that were severely lacking,” said Sims. “With the goal of ‘interoperable communications’ for all Harrison County first responders in mind, we partnered with other governmental agencies and private enterprises to develop a comprehensive plan.”

Judge Sims explained how the SERI grant aligned perfectly with their vision.

“In the early Spring of 2024, a SERI grant became available to support the construction and equipping of a communications tower. With assistance and guidance from the ETCOG staff, we applied and were recently awarded $750,000. This grant enables us to plug a big hole in our coverage map, accomplishing this critical improvement years ahead of schedule. The new tower and equipment will provide a much greater blanket of coverage for our first responders, translating to confidence and security for everyone.”

Rains County Commissioner Jeremy Cook emphasized the importance of these upgrades in a press release.

“Rains County, like other small counties, has witnessed technology surpass our current communication infrastructure capabilities,” said Cook. “We have had numerous dangerous incidents where our first responders were unable to communicate. Fortunately, no one has been hurt or worse.

“Our Sheriff, Michael Hopkins, brought this issue to our attention, and with the assistance of Donetta Miller and the incredible ETCOG staff, we were fortunate enough to secure the SERI grant,” Cook added. “Donetta has gone above and beyond, connecting us with key partners like TxDOT, who will assist with the design, construction, and maintenance of the tower and communication system. This grant will create a safer and more successful environment for all first responders in Rains County while enhancing communications with state and local departments — truly a win-win.”