The Lenoir County Board of Commissioners voted to enter a lease to upgrade the radios of the first responders in Lenoir County including firemen, EMS, and the Sheriff’s department to address a void in coverage.

“We did a study over the last couple of years and we realized that we had areas deficient in coverage, we were covering approximately 70% of the county,” said County Commissioner J. Mac Daughety.

The need for new radios has been a topic of discussion in recent years. With the inability to get the radios repaired, higher maintenance cost, and system compatibility changes, the County felt it was best to move on a bulk replacement plan to better serve the first responder community.

“There are coverage gaps on all radio systems, however, Lenoir County’s largest coverage gaps are on the western border in the La Grange area, the southernmost border in the Pink Hill area, and the northern tip of the County in the Hugo/Tick Bite area,” said Fire Marshall Dustin Burkett.

The county looked at adding new radio towers. When the estimates came back in the five-million-dollar range, the commissioners looked at other options that would be fiscally responsible.

“This project would not have been possible without the support of the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners and are very thankful with their support to move forward with this project,” said Burkett.

With leasing the radios at a price of half a million dollars a year, as opposed to the purchasing price of approximately two million dollars, the county was able to approve the plan without the need to raise taxes to cover the cost.

“We have wonderful volunteer firemen, EMS workers, and members of the sheriff’s department that put their lives on the line for us every day, even if we can do the smallest thing such as this to make their live’s safer, we must do that,” said Daughety.

The new radios should enhance the current coverage to close the gap and provide the necessary means to communicate for the first responders. The county hopes to have the radios in the hands of the first responders in the next two or three weeks.