Communications project with Cass County considered

St. Joseph County is in the preliminary stages of ironing out a communications project with Cass County.

The matter of constructing a new radio tower to be shared by central dispatch departments from both counties was fielded by commissioners during their executive committee meeting Wednesday.

St. Joseph County Central Dispatch Director Dennis Brandenburg told commissioners that a coverage study following the agency’s transition to an 800-megahertz system showed several dead spots concerning pager coverage in areas within Mottville Township.

Subsequent conversations with Brandenburg’s counterpart in Cass County revealed that the corresponding area on the Cass County side of the boundary also has a history of inferior pager-signal coverage.

The potential answer to the problem could result in the construction of a 300-foot communications tower. Its location would be at the Porter Township Fire Department, which is on U.S. 12 and about five miles west of the county line, Brandenburg said.

He said its signal would extend as far west as the Edwardsburg area and as far east as Shimmel Road in St. Joseph County.

The proposed $1.7 million cost would cover construction, radio equipment, a generator and out building to house all equipment, Brandenburg said. The cost would be split evenly between the two counties.

A timeline would be established should the counties come to an agreement on the proposal.