News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Algood and Cookeville Police Departments worked together to get an almost $2 million grant for new radio equipment.
Algood Police Chief Dale Armour said the P-25 system has been recommended for years for law enforcement and emergency services. Armour said the grant will cover about 121 radio systems across both departments.
“So whenever we have any type of mutual aid situation, we can utilize the radios,” Armour said. “The one thing about the P-25 system is it gives us expanded coverage. I could literally be sitting in a meeting in Nashville and with the walkie-talkie talk right back to Algood, which I cannot do with this current system.”
Armour said the Algood and Cookeville Police Departments partnered because the grant was for multiple agencies. He said the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department also partnered with Monterey and Baxter law enforcement for the same grant. Armour said that will put every department in the county on the same system.
Armour said eventually this will allow all the county agencies to join the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network. He said the state is investing millions of dollars in the infrastructure so agencies can utilize the same system.
“This is a very simple way of explaining this, it’s not completely accurate, but Tennessee will be building the infrastructure along I-40 and we can go in and be able to use their repeater system,” Armour said. “So kind of think of it like a cellphone. We have a cellphone, we have P25 radio, we’re hitting their tower.”
Armour said this will also help in mutual aid situations outside of Putnam County. He said they will be able to communicate with neighboring cities and counties.
Armour said to his understanding, the state has one more tower to build in the county. He said he would like to say this will be completed by the end of the year, there are too many moving parts to say with certainty.
