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In late 2023, Prince Edward supervisors signed off on an emergency radio system upgrade, where departments for the first time would be able to communicate with each other instead of going through dispatch for simple questions. Now we have a timeline on when that project will be moving forward. 

“We completed the detailed design review, which is basically making sure that everything we need and everything we wanted is in the plan,” said Trey Pyle. He serves as emergency management coordinator for Prince Edward. 

All of the equipment for the radio towers has been ordered, Pyle told supervisors on Tuesday, Dec. 10. The equipment is built and set up in the Motorola warehouse in Chicago. The plan right now is for Trey and his staff to go up there sometime in March or April. They’ll use the radio system on site, where Motorola employees can fix the system if it malfunctions or if it’s broken. Then Motorola will ship it to Prince Edward County. 

The goal here is for all agencies and systems to be included. That means the Farmville Police Department, the Prince Edward Sheriff’s Office, the Longwood Police Department, the Hampden-Sydney Police Department and all fire and rescue operations in the area. Prince Edward’s Public Works and Solid Waste departments would also be included, with space available to include the school system in the future. 

There would be three tower sites set up under this project. The main tower would be a Dominion Energy tower on East Third Street and Milnwood Road. The second would be on Prince Edward Highway, just past the convenience site in Prospect. And the third would be at the intersection of Douglas Church Road at Abilene Road. 

Looking at cost of radio system

This total package will cost $7.22 million, split between Prince Edward, the town of Farmville, Longwood University and Hampden-Sydney College. Prince Edward’s portion would be 77% of the cost, as it has the most agencies involved. That would add up to $5.57 million. Farmville’s portion would be 20% or $1.41 million, with Longwood paying $167,664 and Hampden-Sydney paying $64,486. Now the county did get a $1 million grant to help cover the cost, so that reduces the bill for everyone involved. 

With that grant, the county’s portion will be $4.8 million, with Farmville paying $1.21 million. Longwood would pay $144,450 and Hampden-Sydney would cover $55,557. 

As for when this all would start? Pyle said site work should begin around March or April 2025.