By AMY RICKER
Great Bend Post
Last Oct., Barton County approved a five-year lease that begins on Jan 1, 2021, with MRT Communications. Since then, MRT Communications has decided it will construct and place the County’s equipment on a new tower at 168 South 281 Highway.
County Administrator Phil Hathcock, filling in for 911 Director Deana Popp, says that once the original lease was signed, it wasn’t until later that the decision was made that a new tower would need to be built.
“They came back to us to renegotiate the lease. They added $200 per year for the lease of the tower for us to put our 800 MHz antennas on,” says Hathcock.
Hathcock explained that the addition of the repeater would alleviate coverage issues and allow for paging as the County moves ahead with its 800MHz radio project. The new tower is slated to be constructed next year, but the County is covered until then. If something does happen to the tower in the meantime, MRT Communications will cover the cost of replacing the equipment.
“While the lease is going up a little bit, I feel like it’s a cost-effective measure rather than to try and construct a tower ourselves. Actually, on the new tower, our antennas will be placed higher since the tower will be structurally better. Therefore, we’ll probably get better coverage across the county along with Great Bend once the new tower is up.”
The updated five-year lease does require an annual payment of $6,300, which can be paid from the 911 Tax Fund.