$1.2 Million Grant Awarded to Oconee for Radio Infrastructure

is the recipient of a $1.2 million grant from the State of Georgia that will help pay for the infrastructure required for the county to join the Oconee Area Radio System (OARS), Sheriff Scott Berry has announced.

An award letter from Gov. Nathan Deal arrived Wednesday.  The  grant is funded by the Homeland Security Grant Program.

OARS allows law enforcement and firefighters to communicate over a secure, digital network with coverage by portable radio over 98 percent of the entire county, Berry said in a news release.   The current system covers less than 80 percent of the county with handheld portable radios, putting the lives of deputies and firefighters at risk during critical times when communication is necessary, he said.

The interoperable feature will allow the Sheriff's Office and Fire Rescue personnel to talk seamlessly and securely with agencies across the middle area of Georgia, including State agencies. Baldwin, Walton, Morgan, and Greene counties are already members of OARS and others are planning to join when funding becomes available. Additionally, the infrastructure also offers the ability to provide mobile data terminals at a point in the future when funding becomes available.

The grant money will be used to reimburse the county for special-purpose, local-option sales tax (SPLOST) funding that initially paid for the infrastructure, Chief Deputy Lee Weems explained.  The freed-up SPLOST money can in turn be used to purchase handheld portable radios and radios for vehicles for all deputies and fire personnel, he said.  The grant "drastically speeds up the process," Weems said.

According to minutes from an agenda-setting meeting of the Board of Commissioners in April 2010, county Finance Director Jeff Benko explained Oconee's portion of the OARS infrastructure was $3.2 million and was to be funded by SPLOST over a six-year period.

"I want to thank Governor Nathan Deal for supporting the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and the Oconee County Volunteer Firefighters and Rescue personnel," Berry said on the Sheriff's Office blog.  "I also want to thank the Board of Commissioners for their support for the project and for their support in obtaining this grant."

Berry said Captain Jimmy Williams worked with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and headed up the grant application.

"Thank you for your commitment to protect our state," Deal wrote in the letter.  "I appreciate your efforts to ensure that Georgia remains a safe place for us to live and raise our families."