Door County Getting $3.9 million for Communications Project Upgrade

Door County Emergency Services photo.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) announced this week that the County of Door would receive $3.9 million for the upgrade of its public safety radio system that assures all peninsula residents and visitors can contact emergency personnel when they need them. 

The county is in the beginning stages of a full-system upgrade to its communication infrastructure that consists of 12 towers (four county-owned and eight co-located). The new upgrade will add eight towers (two co-locations and six new builds) to get appropriate coverage percentages per municipality, according to a Feb. 7 memo from Ashley DeGrave, Door County technology services project manager. 

The project will be broken into three phases: land acquisition/site testing; civil/shelter/site work and tower construction; and FCC licensing acquisition and tower/radio equipment purchasing and implementation.

The total project cost for all three phases is estimated at $25,609,680.08. The county’s last full-system update was in 2013. 

“Wisconsinites deserve to be safe in their communities, and I am proud to have secured nearly $4 million to help Door County update its public safety radio system – making it easier for public safety leaders to communicate, respond to emergencies, and protect our neighbors,” Baldwin said in a statement. 

In total, Baldwin secured $211 million for projects in Wisconsin in the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2024 government funding package, seven of those, including Door County’s, in Northeast Wisconsin.