The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is making a push to get a new 911 tower constructed in south county ahead of the deadline following some setbacks. County Administrator Brian Dissette tells us the first site selected for the tower, in Buchanan, was deemed unsuitable after Native American artifacts were found there. A search identified two alternate sites, one in Buchanan Township and one in Bertrand Township. Commissioners Thursday approved a $975,000 change order to the county’s agreement with Motorola to move forward with studies of the new sites. Dissette says that $975,000 is a worst-case scenario.
“The reason for this worst case scenario is we have a $5 million grant from the state of Michigan that was awarded back in November of 2021,” Dissette said. “At that time, we thought we would have plenty of time to work through this project. We’re getting closer and closer to 2024, and we need to have the project agreement wrapped by the end of 2024, and as a result, we’re trying to move with a higher degree of speed.”
However, the good news is that if either of the new sites is deemed suitable, the cost to the county likely will come in lower than $975,000. Studies are being done now and the change order is an insurance policy to ensure there are no further delays. The new tower is being built to address coverage deficiencies in south county.
