Downtown repeater next phase of radio project

A file photo of the front of Hot Springs City Hall as seen from Convention Boulevard. - File photo by The Sentinel-Record
A file photo of the front of Hot Springs City Hall as seen from Convention Boulevard. - File photo by The Sentinel-Record

The ground lease the city entered into with the Lakeside School District earlier this month was a consequence of the state leaving the Army and Navy General Hospital almost two years ago, Hot Springs Fire Chief Ed Davis told the Civil Service Commission Wednesday.

The city is leasing land on the north end of campus for a 150-foot monopole. Atop the pole will sit the repeater that promises to become a critical node in the city's Arkansas Wireless Information Network microwave ring. Last month's migration of police department communications from the trunked analog system it had used for more than a quarter of a century completed a five-year project to transition all of the city's public safety and service communications to AWIN.

But the city said the move to the state-run, 700-800 MHz frequency digital microwave-based interoperable communications system used by more than 900 federal, state and local agencies didn't close radio coverage gaps downtown and on Malvern Avenue.

"That bowl that Lakeside School sits in, we have limited communications out there," Davis told the commission. The repeater "will take care of that in that area. It will make it much better."

The microwave dish Motorola was installing in the tower of the Army and Navy General Hospital three years ago would've closed both gaps. But the strategic perch it offered became unavailable after the state discontinued the residential vocational and job placement program for young adults with disabilities the building had hosted since 1960.

Davis said finding a new site for a downtown repeater is the next phase of the city's radio project.

The hospital tower "was going to be our primary repeater site for downtown and Malvern Road," he told the commission. "That was what we refer to as a sweet spot. It had the ability to project a signal well down Malvern Road into Lakeside. It also had a great ability to be able to penetrate buildings downtown.

"There's not another place that replicates that ability in downtown Hot Springs. Instead of having to replace it with one site, we have to replace it with two."

In the absence of the repeater, first responders have found ways to communicate downtown.

"Whenever the firefighters are going into a building, they go to what's referred to as talk around," Davis told the commission. "It's direct from radio to radio instead of going through the repeater. You get good penetration of the building that way.

"The second repeater site will penetrate every building there, except for the far reaches of the basement of the Arlington. The backside of the Arlington Hotel is a bomb shelter. It's a lot of poured concrete. There's no radio signal that's going to get through that."

Davis said putting the repeater on top of the Medical Arts building is a possibility. The Art Deco building has been mostly empty for decades, but plans were announced last May to bring an Aloft by Marriott hotel to the downtown landmark.

Recruiting

Assistant Police Chief Billy Hrvatin told the commission the seven-week recruiting drive the department kicked off in March netted nine applicants for Saturday's testing session.

"I would've loved to have seen 25, 30 applicants, but this is the reality in the day and age we live in," he said.

Last fall's recruiting campaign mustered 10 applicants, with only one being offered a position. Hrvatin said the department has 11 openings in its 115 uniformed positions budgeted for 2022. At least one of the applicants is a certified law enforcement officer. The city offers a $5,000 signing bonus for certified officers.

Uncertified hires go to a 13-week course at the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy in Camden or Black River Technical College in Pocahontas, followed by a minimum 14-week field training program. Those who graduate before the end of the year are eligible for the state's $5,000 recruiting stipend.

The commission will interview and rank applicants who passed Saturday's testing session on June 1.

Davis said finding recruits who can withstand the physical rigors of firefighting can be difficult.

"One problem with recruits in general is a lack of physical fitness," he told the commission. "It's a huge issue. That's one of the biggest challenges we have, finding people who have the physical ability to do the job."

The fire department has been trying to draw interest from members of National Park College's sports teams.

"We've been trying to identify folks on the different sports teams who would have the same physical fitness that would match what our physical fitness requirements are," Davis said.

He said the fire department has no openings in the 78 uniformed positions budgeted for 2022, but two are expected to open next month.

The city's human resources department said starting salaries for firefighters and police officers are $39,440 and $43,196, respectively.

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