Stanly commissioners again table 911 center funding decision

Published 6:09 pm Tuesday, January 27, 2026

ALBEMARLE — For the second time this month, the Stanly County Board of Commissioners has tabled a funding decision tied to the county’s new 911 and Emergency Operations Center.

Commissioners are still seeking additional technical clarity before approving nearly half a million dollars in spending.

As construction of the facility at the Stanly County Airport continues, E-911 Director Kyle Griffin told the board that additional funding is required to ensure reliable microwave radio connectivity to the county’s public safety radio system.

Griffin first brought the request to the board Jan. 5, seeking approval for a two-year lease financing option totaling $499,833.16 with Motorola. The funding would cover the remaining balance of a bundled microwave radio network and Multi-Protocol Label Switching project.

According to Griffin, early engineering reviews suggested a single microwave path from either the Stanly Community College tower or the Stanly County Courthouse to a 100-foot tower at the airport would meet system requirements.

However, a more detailed engineering analysis later found that terrain, vegetation growth and reliability standards prevented either direct path from meeting performance criteria, necessitating multiple microwave hops instead.

“Without this connectivity, our telecommunicators will not be able to make radio contact with our law enforcement officers, paramedics or firefighters,” Griffin said, reiterating that his team has not identified a more viable alternative.

Hesitant to approve the additional funding without further explanation, commissioners unanimously voted to table the request, asking that a vendor representative attend a future meeting to provide technical details.

That request was fulfilled on Tuesday night, when Griffin introduced two Mobile Communications America employees — area sales manager Jody Johnson and local sales representative Zachary Fallon — who appeared on behalf of Motorola.

Commissioner Billy Mills opened a question-and-answer discussion with the representatives, focusing on whether the issue could be solved with a cheaper solution.

“We’re being told that there’s trees blocking the signal,” Mills said. “We can buy a lot of trees or cut a lot of trees for $500,000, so why can’t we cut the trees down?”

Johnson said the idea was theoretically possible but complicated in practice.

“I’m not going to tell you you can’t do that, but I think it’s very cumbersome and complicated with who owns the land,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of what-ifs that could factor into that.”

Vice Chairman Bill Lawhon asked what the county could have done differently to avoid reaching a point where nearly $500,000 in additional funding was being requested after construction was already underway.

“As we moved along and became more final in the design and where you’re putting the building, a lot of things came into factor with that being an airport and the air traffic restriction,” Johnson said. “A lot of it becomes a terrain factor. It’s in a low spot and it’s just difficult to get out with line-of-sight, over-the-air microwave.”

Following the discussion, Mills suggested that the board seek a second opinion from an independent technical expert without a direct financial stake in the proposal; commissioners unanimously agreed to continue tabling the decision.

Griffin said he will return with a representative from Mission Critical Partners, an independent consulting and IT support services firm.

The board is scheduled to revisit the issue at its next regular meeting on Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. in the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly County Commons.