Delco 911 Center gets $1.5M boost from state
The Delaware County 911 Center will receive a $1.5 million grant from the state to upgrade towers as part of a major overhaul of emergency communications systems in the county.
The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant was secured through a bipartisan effort in Harrisburg and will be used to pay for 24 tower upgrades as part of a planned $50 million revamp of the entire emergency communications system.
“This grant is critically important and will greatly benefit Delaware County,” said state Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168 of Middletown, in a release. “The upgrades to our emergency communications are crucial to ensuring that the public can receive the assistance they need during a crisis.”
“I’m proud to see legislators come together from across the aisle and from every edge of the county to provide for our first responders,” said state Rep. Jennifer O’Mara, D-165 of Springfield. “As the co-chair of the bipartisan Fire and Emergency Services Caucus and daughter of a firefighter, ensuring the success of our local emergency service organizations drives my work as a lawmaker. This investment is a major victory for our county’s first responders and, in turn, the safety of residents.”
Emergency Services Director Tim Boyce said RACP grants are provided specifically for infrastructure projects that benefit the community at large.
Strengthening existing radio towers or building new towers as the county transitions to a new system falls squarely in that designation, Boyce said.
The new radio system has two elements: Infrastructure, which is expected to cost about $25 million, and the radio systems at the center and in the field for first responders, which is expected to cost about another $25 million, Boyce said.
This grant will allow the county to put a down payment on some of that infrastructure work, Boyce said. He added that the grant requires the use of U.S. steel, U.S. parts and competitive wages.
“It’s a fair opportunity for local businesses, local unions to be engaged,” said Boyce. “It really ensures that the reinvestment stays within our county, within our region.”
Boyce explained that there will be an overlap period during the transition between the two systems as the county makes its improvements, which will require existing towers to carry anten
nas and cabling for both systems at the same time.
These additions can be heavy, so the county will study whether some towers have the capacity for room, if they need to be strengthened, or if there needs to be some new construction. Boyce said that will be an ongoing conversation that will take place with residents.
The county had sought $6 million in RACP funding, which is a competitive process, and Boyce said he hopes to be able to go back to that well for additional funds as the project goes along. The goal for completion is two years once the county gets under contract, he said.
“I am sincerely grateful for the bipartisan effort of our legislators,” said Boyce. “This project requires support in the both the House and Senate, and from both sides of the aisle. Our legislators saw this as a county need in a local jurisdiction, so they took some of their political influence and they were able to apply it to a critical county project, and that really is a credit to all of them. They see the big picture.”
County Councilwoman Elaine Schaefer, who Boyce credited with spearheading the effort to get RACP funds, said the entire Delaware County delegation of elected representatives in Harrisburg rose to the occasion in advocating for this grant.
“It is a project that touches every single organization and business and individual in Delco, so
it’s not hard to find support for it,” Schaefer said.
She added that the county would continue working to find alternative funding sources as the project moves forward.
“We’ll get it done one way or the other, but if we can minimize the impact on Delco taxpayers, that is the best-case scenario,” she said.
“This investment from the commonwealth will go a long way toward ensuring that first responders in Delaware County have the tools and resources they need to effectively perform their mission, especially in emergency situations,” said state Sen. Tim Kearney, D-26 of Swarthmore. “I am proud to have worked with my colleagues to secure this funding and support the brave men and women on the frontlines of public safety.”
“Our emergency services and first responders deserve every bit of support we can provide as they help the people of Delaware County,” said state Rep.-elect Craig Williams, R-160 of Concord. “I am grateful to the representatives who came before me in obtaining this much-needed financial assistance for our 911 system. I pledge to continue that bipartisan collaboration in securing for our first responders the resources they need to perform their various missions.”
State Sen.-elect John Kane, D-9, of Birmingham, Chester County, announced numerous other local projects had also received RACP funding this year. They include:
• $3 million for Cheyney University to revitalize buildings on campus, including constructing of a new research and development training facility.
• $1 million to develop a new retail, office and commercial space in one of Chester City’s Opportunity Zones.
• $500,000 to construct an addition to the Eddystone firehouse, a new maintenance facility and upgrade existing municipal buildings.
• $1.5 million for Monroe Energy in Trainer to convert a cooling water system into a closedloop water tower system, which is expected to reduce Monroe’s water intake from the Delaware River by 90 million gallons.
• $1 million for the construction of pad-complete sites in Middletown Township, to create new hotel and retail pads.
• $900,000 to renovate the Philadelphia Suburban Association of Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors’ Apprentice School in Aston.