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The Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to amend the American Rescue Plan Fund (ARP) budget, allocating $800,000 from the North Jackson Streetscape project to purchase radios for Tullahoma emergency services.

The motion, brought to the board by Alderman Kurt Glick and seconded by Alderman Derick Mann, was backed by the statements of Tullahoma Fire Chief Kenneth Pearson, Tullahoma Police Chief Jason Williams and Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin, who was present to speak at the meeting.

“I’m not discounting the importance at all of the North Jackson Streetscape,” Glick said. “But I’ve talked to the fire chief and police chief, and they’ve talked about wanting to get into this communications system and trying to phase into it. I just thought it doesn’t make sense to phase into a whole communications system, but you could phase into the North Jackson Streetscape plan. We can still do that plan and work on it and do the radios all at once.”

Alderman Jenna Amacher requested that Partin speak before the board continued discussion on the motion, before bringing up a personal account of the city’s current radio system.

“A few years ago, I really pushed back on the purchasing of many of the radios with concerns that they were not gonna be compatible with the other systems,” she said, “and voted ‘no’ every time and raised these very concerns that now we’re faced here, having to spend another $800,000. Even if you’re the sole man on the board, your voice should still be heard and listened to. I don’t ever want anybody on this board to feel like they are alienated like I was at that time.”

Partin was invited to speak before the board, and he recounted that Coffee County and the city of Manchester undertook the project of updating after technological developments in the time since the board last voted on the matter, directing this comment at Amacher.

According to Partin, the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network (TACN) has retired their subscriber fee, allowing local emergency systems greater access. Additionally, he stated that the current administration of the state government has invested millions of dollars into expanding the coverage area of TACN.

“Some two-and-a-half years ago, members of the state of Tennessee came to my office, and we did an extensive testing in that system,” he said. “The timing hit us just at the right time, and we were able to join on with the state system. The state system gives us a coverage area that is statewide. It helps us [with] prisoner transports, gives our fire departments the ability to communicate with all the other agencies that are called in, as well as [to] be able to call back home to our communications dispatch. The availability and the uniqueness of this system is trendsetting across the nation.”

He explained that the radio system is able to connect to the wifi of a given building or area if they are unable to connect to a local radio tower. He brought an example of one of the radios used by Coffee County emergency services to show the board, explaining that it was “basically a smartphone built into the back of a regular portable two-way radio.”

“I’m not saying get rid of what you currently have,” he said. “You still have a use for that on a local level. It just allows you to tie into us, the whole state and even the federal government. I am glad to say that we are working on a partnership with AEDC that will benefit the city of Tullahoma tremendously. You’ve got an opportunity right here to put every working mechanism within your city government onto one radio, in case we have another tornadic incident or some kind of natural disaster in Tullahoma. I’m hoping we can talk with TUA and integrate them into the system.”

Amacher questioned if Partin foresaw this equipment becoming a requirement by the state for standard operations.

“Yes, it could,” he responded. “There was an attempt some time ago by members of the state legislature to legislate us into this, but they’re very serious about bringing us all together. We’ve never had this kind of love from the state before for such a large project.”

Alderman Daniel Berry mentioned that the board had previously looked into upgrading the city’s radio equipment through an inquiry with Motorola. He asked whether the city had reached back out to Motorola for a quote, before committing $800,000 to the upgrade.

Partin offered his assistance in making a decision regarding the system, as a local official with experience in both the process of upgrading and utilizing the new system. He provided further information about the different options for radios and the scale of cost.

He additionally recommended that the city consider setting aside funds in the annual budget, going forward yearly, to consider additional units or updates as the city’s emergency services departments expand.

“I went ahead and bought you some equipment to put at 911 without you knowing or authorizing it,” Partin said, directed at Mayor Ray Knowis. “I took care of that out of my budget, so I saved you several thousand dollars, anticipating that I was going to help you some way, somehow.”

Berry additionally recommended that the board direct funds from the ARP budget to prioritize a safety crosswalk on North Jackson Street, at the Tullahoma High School.

The board unanimously approved both amendments to the ARP budget to include funds for city radio upgrades and the direction of funds to a crosswalk at the high school. The construction of the crosswalk will be dependent upon approval by the state, as North Jackson is a state highway.