Mar 5, 2025 By Mike Jones 5 min read

Washington County officials are trying to sell $4.7 million worth of unused emergency radio equipment purchased in 2023 as part of a multimillion-dollar contract that was later canceled, but claim they’re in a stalemate to get the gear released to them.

County solicitor Gary Sweat told the commissioners during their agenda-setting meeting Tuesday that they’ve had ongoing discussions with a third-party vendor about the public safety radio equipment that the county has already purchased and is trying to retrieve from a New Jersey warehouse.

But there appears to be a dispute within the contract about who has legal possession of the equipment and what must be done to get it formally turned over to the county in order to sell to potential buyers.

“Hopefully it doesn’t rise to the level of litigation, but we’re in a logjam,” Sweat said of the discussions.

“We had made some movement,” Commission Chairman Nick Sherman said, asking about the progress.

After the meeting, Sweat said the county has been in communication with the third-party vendor for Tait Communications, which built the radio equipment in the county’s previous contract, but they are declining to release it from the New Jersey warehouse until getting authorization from a local contractor here. Sherman added they have been unable to get that approval from North Strabane-based MRA Inc., which was the original contractor on the project, to release the equipment to the county in what appears to be an escalating dispute over the canceled contract.

“It’s supposed to be our equipment, but in the contract they’re saying it’s their equipment,” Sherman said. “We paid for it (but) they have ownership or control over it.”

In March 2023, the board of commissioners led by then chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan voted 2-1 to approve the $22.545 million contract with MRA. Irey Vaughan and Commissioner Larry Maggi voted in favor of that contract while Sherman voted against the motion because he favored a different system built by Motorola.

After Irey Vaughan retired from the board when her term expired in January 2024, Sherman ascended to chair and voted alongside new Commissioner Electra Janis to terminate the MRA contract and request new bids. Last August, Sherman and Janis approved a $24.445 million contract with Motorola Solutions to build the new P-25 radio system, with Maggi voting against it.

By then, the county had already spent $8.5 million on equipment, including towers and receivers that are still being stored at the Washington County Airport, along with various Tait radio equipment that remains in New Jersey. Sherman said the county has a buyer interested in the Tait product, so they will be able to recoup some of that money.

“So this is great news and the county will not be losing money on this. Minus some restocking fees, we can sell this and make the taxpayer whole, but there is now a breakdown of communications between the county and MRA,” Sherman said.

Sherman said the county’s technical consultant on the project, Mission Critical Partners, recently found a buyer for the Tait equipment – which is worth about $4.7 million – but county officials have so far been unsuccessful in taking possession of that equipment. Sherman said the issue stems from the county signing paperwork in 2023 saying it was taking ownership of the equipment but not taking physical control of it.

“Mission Critical Partners said they would find a buyer. They have found a buyer and we’re just trying to get rid of it,” Sherman said, although he did not disclose who the potential buyer is or whether the holdup could affect the sale. “It’s our equipment and we just need MRA to sign off on it and they won’t.”

MRA Inc. CEO Dennis Presky did not respond to an email Tuesday morning seeking comment on the status of the equipment or if there is a dispute over whether it should be turned over to Washington County.

Sweat said there appears to be either a misunderstanding about the situation or a breakdown in communication. Either way, he contends there is no doubt that the county paid for and owns the Tait equipment and has the right to sell it to interested buyers.

“We’ve asked for the equipment. Please release it because we have a buyer,” Sweat said. “If that falls through, then we’ve got a major problem.”

In addition to selling the Tait equipment, Sherman said they expect to be able to sell the roughly $2 million in tower equipment at the airport since other places across the country could use them. The receivers that are also stored at the airport are apparently compatible with the Motorola equipment and can be utilized as the county implements the P-25 radio system, Sherman said.

“There’s no harm, no foul,” Sherman said. “I would hope that cooler heads will prevail.”