St. Croix County staff presented a long-range communications plan to the Public Protection and Judiciary Committee that recommends converting the county's public-safety radio system to an 800 megahertz band, adding encrypted simulcast channels, and building or rebuilding several towers to sustain coverage through 2030 and beyond.

Terry, who led the plan presentation, said the county's current simulcast system went live in 2017 and has grown from about 1,100 radios then to roughly 1,900 (mobiles and portables) after a recent survey. Staff told the committee they must address an expiring lease at the Hammond tower and other coverage gaps and that doing nothing would only require a $4.75 million refresh while adding capacity and encryption would push costs higher.

The plan seeks a 2027 KIP funding request of $11.6 million to convert to an 800 MHz system, include building or rebuilding the Hammond tower and other sites, and replace dispatch equipment; staff said an additional $2.2 million for mobiles and portables could be required, which brought the figure discussed in the meeting to "almost $14,000,000." County staff also described per-unit radio pricing options: roughly $4,000 for a single-band 800 MHz radio and about $8,000 for a dual-band radio that would operate on both 800 MHz and the county's existing VHF band.

Staff emphasized timeline constraints: leases for certain tower sites expire around January 2030 and, if the plan moves forward, the county would need to complete tower work (including a Hammond tower replacement) before the end of 2029. Staff said they are engaging municipal and inter-county partners, exploring interoperability with Wisconsin's WISCOM and Minnesota's ARMOR systems, and considering partnerships with utilities such as St. Croix Electric and Dairyland Electric for site placement.

Committee members asked about funding and grants; staff said some 911 and interoperability grants exist but are limited and often require initial local outlays. Staff also said the weather-paging channel and existing sirens would remain on the current system to avoid requiring all users to replace pagers. No formal committee action was taken at the meeting; staff indicated further discussion will be needed before any KIP authorization or bond action.