Sep 6, 2023 By Mike Jones staff Writer mjones@observer-Reporter.Com 4 min read

Washington County officials and North Strabane Township’s manager are at odds over what records should be made public from the county’s decision earlier this year to purchase a new radio system for emergency responders.

Andrew Walz, who serves as municipal manager for North Strabane, filed an open records request March 16 for information related to the county’s decision earlier that day to award a multimillion-dollar radio service contract to Tait/MRA Inc./PMC Wireless instead of another vendor that was preferred by first responders.

The split decision by the commissioners, with Diana Irey Vaughan and Larry Maggi voting in favor and Nick Sherman voting against, upset numerous police, fire and EMS officials who attended the meeting and spoke out against approving the $22.545 million bid by Tait/MRA.

Those emergency officials said they preferred another bid by Motorola – which they claimed was more reliable than the chosen vendor – but Irey Vaughan said at the time it was more costly and might not be as compatible to the current system, meaning it could take longer to implement. Details of the Motorola proposal, including the cost, have not been released.

Walz’s request asked for documents from the county’s Public Safety Committee’s “Radios P25 Project” that included a study performed by Mission Critical detailing radio coverage, along with request for proposals, vendor responses, pricing and the final package approved by the commissioners.

The county initially asked for a 30-day delay to review Walz’s request, which was later “deemed denied” on April 24, when county officials failed to respond within the required time period. A subsequent response by the county four days after the deadline cited public safety, 911 radio transcript and trade secrets exemptions as the reason for the denial.

In response, Walz appealed on May 4 to the state’s Office of Open Records to independently rule on the request as permitted through the Right To Know Law. Appeals Officer Blake Eilers issued a mixed final determination July 18 that required the county to make public the requests for proposals, or RFPs, although other portions, like the final approved package, can remain private for now since the deal has not been “executed” until other details are reviewed. The county has already produced some pricing information, according to the OOR’s final determination, and a previous ruling already required it to produce the Mission Critical study, which was “heavily redacted.”

But the county appealed the OOR’s decision to the Court of Common Pleas last month, and President Judge John DiSalle will have to rule on the open records request at a later date. County solicitor Jana Grimm, who filed the appeal Aug. 11, did not respond to a phone message seeking comment.

Walz said Tuesday he made his request as a private citizen and not in the capacity as township manager, although it’s clear from previous comments by others that many municipal and emergency officials are unhappy with the county’s decision on its new radio system.

“We’re trying to get some information on an ongoing radio project and for some reason (Washington County officials) felt the need to appeal that,” Walz said.

Emergency officials said the county’s current radio system is unreliable and they assert the new Tait/MRA version is similar since it uses a subcontractor, raising concerns of its effectiveness. However, the contract technically has not been finalized because county officials are still assessing whether the Tait/MRA system is compatible and be installed in the next few years. The tight timeline is due to the county using federal American Rescue Plan Act money to fund the project, which must be allocated by the end of 2026.