Questions remain about Lorain County's upcoming MARCS rollout

Lorain County officials last week announced the long-awaited emergency Multi-Agency Radio Communications System, or MARCS, will be fully tested and ready to use by county first responders on June 15. "This project represents Lorain County's commitment to providing our first responders with the reliable, modern communications infrastructure they need to serve and protect our residents," Commissioner Jeff Riddell said in a news release. "The completion of this system is a major investment in public safety and regional interoperability." But Cleveland Communications Inc., a company that is suing the county for alleged breach of contract in federal court, has multiple users of both its transmission equipment and its L3 Harris portable radios. Ironically, the parties who favor CCI and those who favor MARCS don't appear to be communicating effectively, and that leaves "too many" questions, said Sheffield Police Chief William Visalden, president of the Lorain County Chiefs Law Enforcement Association and a critic of how the county has handled the matter. MARCS is used by the State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Department of Transportation and emergency first responders in a majority of Ohio's 88 counties. County officials said in a news release that 10 towers "strategically located" throughout the county with MARCS equipment on them will now provide "reliable and consistent" radio coverage to Lorain County first responders. The system has been "designed and thoroughly tested to deliver the coverage, reliability, and channel capacity that public safety agencies require every day," Riddell said. Commissioners "encourage all public safety agencies that have not yet begun transition planning to explore opportunities to utilize the new system," the county said in its news release. Visalden, whose department is on CCI equipment, questioned whether enough testing has been done on MARCS to see if the two systems work together. Having two systems with no interoperability would set the county back 30 years, he said. His chiefs association had a committee studying the issue and "playing middleman" with Lorain County 911, the county fire chiefs and the county Emergency Management Agency, Visalden said, but that effort ended abruptly. "No one wanted to talk about true interoperability," Visalden said. "That kind of went by the wayside. There's no longer any meetings trying to do that." Another question Visalden had: Will the county offer potential future MARCS users grants or loans to transfer over to that system? A message seeking comment on the rollout was left for interim county EMA Director Jeff Young, the former Sheffield fire chief and former Lorain County 911 director. Visalden said he is left wondering if CCI equipment will still work come June 15. If it does, he wondered, will it be able to talk to those on MARCS? And if another day like July 23, 2025, happens — the day a gunman shot three Lorain police officers, killing Officer Phillip Wagner — what will interoperability look like, Visalden wondered. "If we sit here and it happens again and we're not ready, shame on us," Visalden said. "Interoperability. Right now. Today. How does it work? What's it going to cost? That's what I think the focus needs to be on." "If we're truly in for interoperabililty and we are truly in the best interest of the residents of Lorain County, then damn it let's work for what's in the best interest of the residents, irrelevant of what is best for police, fire, the sheriff and 911," Visalden said. "Let's save lives. Ultimately, that's what we want, right? Let's sit in a room and have a respectful discussion: How do we work collaboratively together to save the lives of our residents, which is our No. 1 priority above all else." Messages seeking comment on the county's announcement also were left for Wellington Fire Chief Mike Wetherbee, president of the county Fire Chiefs Association and a vocal critic of the move to MARCS. Commissioners Riddell and David Moore voted in January 2023 to rescind CCI's $7.7 million emergency radio contract with the county. Now-former commissioners Michelle Hung and Matt Lundy had approved it the month before, using American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for it. Moore and Riddell alleged wrongdoing in the awarding of the CCI contract but never provided evidence of their claim. Two separate criminal investigations found no such evidence. Lorain County's police and fire chiefs, then-sheriff Phil Stammitti, his deputies, Hung, and multiple city, village, township and union officials all backed CCI. That didn't stop Moore and Riddell from giving Motorola and MARCS a $13.9 million contract in late 2023. Moore said last year that taking MARCS countywide would end up costing $28 million, with much of that provided by state and federal sources. He has stressed that CCI was primarily providing radios while MARCS and Motorola were providing an entire system. Many departments have moved forward with CCI equipment, including the Elyria police and fire departments and Lorain police and fire departments. Elyria Police Chief James Welsh said Tuesday his agency bought radios from CCI last year and had "no plans on going" to MARCS. CCI's lawsuit against the county is pending in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. Sheriff Jack Hall also has sued commissioners over control of Lorain County 911.Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.