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Without the repeater radio system, an extra step would be required by a dispatcher in summoning the proper response team to an emergency, which would be “cumbersome,” Greenville Town Manager John Simko told the commissioners. Town officials had initially sought to have the county fund half of the cost of the repeater. Their position changed, however, when they learned that no other community had contributed to the construction or maintenance of other communication towers in the county. “Our request is made in an attempt for parity with the treatment of other municipalities by Piscataquis County,” Simko said. The commissioners tabled the request in order to discuss the matter with the sheriff’s department since the funds would ultimately come from that department’s budget. It is expected that E-911 will be operational in the county by the end of this month, according to a spokesman at the department. “We want to be on board with everybody,” commission chairman Eben DeWitt told the town officials. Despite the fact that the county is in the middle of the current budget and the new county budget does not begin until January, DeWitt said, “We will do something in the very near future.” Simko urged that the matter be decided in time for Greenville to have the same capabilities as other communities when the program is implemented. “There is a degree of perceived urgency,” he said. The town manager said that when residents from other areas of the county call for E-911 emergency assistance, a dispatcher would receive the call and hit a button to tone out the respective department. E-911 calls from residents in the Moosehead Lake region also would be answered by a dispatcher, but without a repeater system, the dispatcher would need to place a telephone call to the proper department being requested and the person who answers that call would then tone out a response team. “It actually creates another step,” Simko said. A new frequency, which has been applied for by the town, and a repeater system, will give Greenville the same access as other communities, he said. Greenville Fire Chief Mike Drinkwater told the commissioners that a new frequency would allow a clear channel from which to notify the region about emergency situations. The Moosehead Lake region’s need for improved communications is not a new issue, Eugene Murray, chairman of the Greenville Board of Selectmen, told the commissioners. He said the request for improved services had been discussed over the years but budget restrictions excluded its funding. “I think it’s only fair to the town of Greenville that the county bear the burden of the cost,” Murray stated. The changeover is not without cost to Greenville, the commissioners learned. Simko said the town would need to reprogram or replace the pagers and radios used by the fire department and police at a cost of about $5,000. |