East Oregonian
June 5, 2003

County approves tower bid

By JEANNINE KORANDA of the East Oregonian
jkoranda@eastoregonian.com

PENDLETON - The Umatilla County Commissioners awarded a bid this week to construct and improve radio towers for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program to Ace Communication.

The $368,980 bid was the lowest of seven received, said County Council Doug Olsen.

The 450 megahertz radio system is designed to handle an emergency where several calls would be going in and out at once, in the event an accident should occur at the Umatilla Chemical Depot.

In December, the commissioners awarded the bid to Legacy Wireless but retracted the contract in January when competitors challenged the process.

In May, the county put the contract out for bid again, Olsen said.

In other business the commissioners:

·Agreed to urge members of the Smoke Management Board to participate more actively in board decisions.

·Appointed Paulette Youngberg to the Housing Authority.

·Agreed to fund exchange with the Oregon Department of Transportation, which has occurred for several years and helps provide road work.