Washington Co. in the patient situation to release non -used emergency devices

Washington County officials try to sell non-used emergency radio devices worth $ 4.7 million, which were bought in 2023 as part of a later-canceled multimillion dollar contract.

The district lawyer Gary Sweat informed the commissioners during their agenda setting meeting on Tuesday that they had ongoing discussions with a third-party provider about the radio units for public security that the district has already bought and tried to call up from a new warehouse in New Jersey.

However, there seems to be a dispute within the contract about who has the legal ownership of the equipment and what needs to be done to officially hand it over to the district in order to sell to potential buyers.

“Hopefully it will not increase to the level of legal disputes, but we are in a logjam,” said Sweat about the discussions.

“We had made a movement,” said Nick Sherman, chairman of the commission, and asked about progress.

After the meeting, Sweat said that the district was associated with the third -party provider for Tait Communications, which built the radio devices in the previous contract of the district. Sherman added that they could not receive this approval by MRA Inc. in North Strabane, the original contractor of the project, in order to free the equipment in an apparently escalating dispute over the cancellation contract to the district.

“It should be our equipment, but in the contract you say it is your equipment,” said Sherman. “We paid for it (but) you have property or control over it.”

In March 2023, the Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 with the then chairman Diana Irey Vaughan for the approval of the contract of USD 22.545 million with MRA. IREY VAUGhan and Commissioner Larry Maggi voted for this contract, while Sherman voted against the application because he preferred another system built by Motorola.

After Irey Vaughan had withdrawn from the board when her term in January 2024, Sherman got chaired and with the new Commissioner Electra Janis with the termination of the MRA contract and requested new offers. Last August, Sherman and Janis approved a contract of $ 24.445 million with Motorola solutions to the construction of the new P-25 radio system, but Maggi was right.

Until then, the district had already issued 8.5 million US dollars for equipment, including towers and recipients that are still kept at Washington County Airport, as well as various Tait radio equipment that exist in New Jersey. Sherman said the district had a buyer who is interested in the Tait product so that they can repeat part of this money.

“These are great news and the district will not lose any money for this. After a few refill fees we can sell this and do the taxpayer completely, but there is now a breakdown of communication between the district and the MRA, ”said Sherman.

Sherman said that the district's technical consultant for the project, business -critical partners, recently found a buyer for the TAIT equipment, which is worth around 4.7 million US dollars, have so far been able to have this equipment unsuccessfully. Sherman said that the problem from the district was signed from the district in 2023 that the owners of the equipment had taken over, but did not take the physical control of it.

“Mission -critical partners said they would find a buyer. You have found a buyer and we just try to get rid of him, ”said Sherman, although he did not know who the potential buyer is or whether the holdup could influence the sale. “It is our equipment and we only need MRA to sign it off and you won't do it.”

Dennis Presky, CEO of MRA Inc., did not answer on Tuesday morning to an e -mail in which he was looking for a comment on the status of the equipment or whether there was an argument as to whether it should be handed over to Washington County.

Sweat said that there seems to be either a misunderstanding about the situation or a collapse of communication. In both cases, he claims that there is no doubt that the district paid the Tait equipment and has the Tait equipment and has the right to sell it to interested buyers.

“We asked for the equipment. Please publish it because we have a buyer, ”said Sweat. “If that goes through, we have a big problem.”

In addition to selling the Tait equipment, Sherman expects you to expect the tower equipment of around 2 million US dollars at the airport, as other places across the country could use it. The recipients who are also kept at the airport are apparently compatible with the Motorola equipment and can be used if the district implemented the P-25 radio system, said Sherman.

“There is no harm, no foul,” said Sherman. “I would hope that there are cooler heads.”