Raisin Township Board approves purchase of radios, pagers for fire dept.

At the Monday evening Raisin Township Board of Trustees meeting, board members unanimously approved the purchase of 30 pagers and 10 portable radios for the Raisin Township Fire Department (RTFD) for a total cost of $15,819.The money for the radios and pagers comes from the available $40,00 in the department’s capital outlay budget, which is to purchase equipment that will last over seven years. There will be $24,181 left after the equipment purchase. The pager is an Unication G1 and will be purchased from RayleCom at a cost of $460 each. The company has offered to purchase the department’s old pagers at $50 a piece, saving the township $1,500. Also included in the package is a programmer for a onetime cost of $249. “This [the pager] is how we receive our emergency calls,” said RTFD Chief Eddie Mathis. “According to the salesman, this is the best-of-the-best.”The pagers come with a two-year warranty, a charger with a one-year warranty and a battery. The pagers can be submersed in water up to three feet for 30 minutes, and can record 16 minutes of voice notes while on the scene and play back dispatch calls, which saves time communicating with dispatch, Mathis added. The current pagers are refurbished units given to the department. “Unfortunately, it was a Band-Aid,” Mathis said. “It’s how we’ve gotten by.”The 10 Kenwood portable radios, which is a brand the department has used in the past, will be purchased from Adrian Communications. The cost is $327 per radio and the set comes with collar mics and desk chargers. The radios are what firefighters use to communicate with dispatch and other firefighters at a scene during an emergency call and can be used to call for help when someone is in trouble. Raisin Township Police Department Chief Kevin Grayer told the board he is researching the purchase of body-worn cameras for the township’s officers.“This board has the ability to assist our police officers in giving them what tools they need to help them essentially bring transparency and enlighten situations that could be otherwise convoluted or difficult,” said Raisin Township Supervisor Jay Cavanaugh. Grayer said he has looked into the cameras used by the Tecumseh Police Department (TPD), the VIEVU LE3, and commented that the cameras produced good quality video and sound. However, he did say one hurdle with body-warn cameras is with server space to store the video files. The township would have to store the video files for at least 90 days. If that footage is requested in a case it would then be downloaded and stored in the department’s property room as evidence so it’s not accidentally erased. “I just don’t want to get cheap equipment that we’re going to have to replace later down the line,” Grayer added. One VIEVU LE3 is $750 and Grayer said he would be seeking three cameras to purchase in total — two for on-road officers and one for backup — for officers whether it’s the VIEVU LE3 or another offering from a different manufacturer. “The last thing I want is one of these officers getting hurt if we could have just spent seven-hundred fifty dollars to make sure they get home to their family,” said Grayer. “It’s worth it. It’s just a tool the county has received well.” Grayer said he would be seeking information and cost on other cameras and servers from different manufacturers before he presents a proposal to the board. The VIEVU LE3 currently in use at TPD is able to film in either 1280×720 high-definition or 848×480 widescreen standard-definition with enhanced image quality and low-light capability with 16GB of internal data storage. The camera is waterproof, though non-submersible, with a field of view of 68 degrees while weighing 2.8 ounces.