Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of radios for the use of Whitehall’s emergency responders in a vote of 7-0 during the June 9 meeting. Deputy Mayor Jack Meyers noted the radios will be used by the police department, fire department and emergency management agency.

According to Meyers, this project has been several years in the making. The total cost for the handheld and vehicle radios and microphones will be $879,174.06.

When it comes to the staff who will receive these radios, Meyers noted the fire department, management and police had to provide a list of what they wanted, ranging from mobile, car or handheld radios. After this list was provided, accurate prices were able to be calculated for the township, once bids were put in and received.

Lehigh County is converting from an older system to a digital system. It provides better clarity and crosstalk between different agencies. They’ve been working on this transition for the last five years, according to board Vice President Jeff Warren.

“All are being communicated on the same frequency,” Meyers said.

Commissioner Ken Snyder raised concerns about whether these new radios will solve issues relating to dead spots in the Lehigh Valley, particularly spots in the Lehigh Valley Mall. Meyers said these new radios will solve a majority of the issues.

“Some sites within the county, whether by their physical location or building designs, have difficulties maintaining signal strength to communicate,” Meyers said. “These are generally known as dead spots. The new system, presently nearing completion, has been designed and tested with these irregularities in mind. They will be addressed in as comprehensive a manner as is possible.”

Warren explained the radios are being purchased at a discount. The board also noted the county went out to bid, and the price is based on the bids received.

According to Solicitor Jack Gross, the county is allowing the township to pay over five years, interest free. However, based on conversations with bond counsel, Gross believes it wouldn’t be possible because of the deadline.

“It would be township debt that would have to be approved through the Debt Act. It can’t be approved by a simple resolution of the board,” Gross said, adding they had a week from the meeting to make a decision.

Gross noted the county has given each municipality a deadline to decide if it wanted the five-year, no-interest, repayment option or the 10-year, with interest, option.

“Whitehall can’t meet that deadline because we can’t take the statutory required steps to approve it because it’s debt,” Gross said.

Meyers noted an option would be to do the same financing under the Lafarge Fund and pay that amount back under the same conditions.

Meyers reminded the board they were only voting for the expenditure that night, and that if the county chose not to move forward with purchasing the equipment, the county would not have the equipment ordered, and it wouldn’t arrive by the time the conversion comes.

“It has to be done. They’re converting, and if we don’t have them ordered like Jack just said, our guys are not going to have the radios at the time to convert it,” Commissioner Alberta Scarfaro said.

Gross reported they hadn’t had a chance to discuss with the county whether they could receive an extension to the deadline or negotiate the repayment plan so that it wouldn’t accumulate as debt under the Debt Act.

The plan was approved after deliberations, and the equipment will be delivered and rolled out to the emergency responders throughout the county by the end of this year, per the county’s plan.

In other news, the board also approved a junior firefighter program in Whitehall Township. The board members expressed thanks and appreciation for Chief Mark Bilder and for moving forward with the program.

“I just want to thank Chief Bilder. I think it’s a great idea to recruit more volunteers into the township,” Commissioner Randy Atiyeh said.

Bilder said, “The goal of this program is to get a junior member with classes, training and to become an outstanding member of the Whitehall Fire Department when they become a senior member. The junior program is a program designed to teach the junior member how to become a senior member when they turn 18.”

The age group for the program ranges between 14 and 17 years old. Bilder said the volunteer must maintain at least a 70% average on all school subjects during the school year. If they receive anything below a 70%, the student will not be allowed to volunteer and could be suspended from the program until they can bring their grades above the 70% requirement.

“There’s an emphasis on being a good student to volunteer with the program,” Warren said.

At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Phil Ginder also expressed his praise and thanks to Bilder for his work and efforts.

“You’ve done one hell of a job in that fire department for the last year and a half,” Ginder said. “We can’t even say thanks enough for what you’ve done.”