Franklin County’s 911 Radio-Tower Build Moves to Equipment Installation, With Service Still Unconfirmed

Franklin County’s emergency-radio tower project has moved into equipment installation after construction of all three 911 radio towers was completed, County Manager Terry Harris told commissioners at the May 26 work session. Harris said the county anticipated system testing by the end of the year. The report follows his Jan. 27 statement that two towers—at Highway 326 and the county’s 911 station—had already been installed, marking a further step in a public-safety communications project whose operating status remains unconfirmed.

The project matters because emergency radio infrastructure supports the communications used in public-safety work across Franklin County. New tower locations and completed construction may improve the county’s ability to build out that network, but the practical stakes for residents cannot yet be measured: the county’s public account does not say what areas the towers will cover, how the system will perform, or whether responders are able to use it now.

The county first publicly described a concrete installation milestone at the Jan. 27 work session, when Harris reported that towers had been installed at Highway 326 and the 911 station. By May 26, his update described a broader three-tower project: construction was complete at all three sites, equipment installation was underway, and testing was expected by year’s end. That sequence shows that the work has progressed beyond the two locations identified in January, while also showing that physical construction and a functioning radio system are separate stages.

Harris is the county official who delivered both status reports to the Board of Commissioners during work sessions. His May update presents the county’s position that the towers’ construction is complete and that equipment installation is in progress, with testing anticipated later in the year. The meeting records document commissioners receiving those reports, but they do not record a Board vote on the project, competing proposals, or publicly stated disagreements over the towers’ purpose, cost or timeline.

Construction of the three towers and the start of equipment installation are reported completed or underway, respectively; neither report establishes that the radio system has entered service. The anticipated year-end testing is a projection, not a documented completed test or activation. The county manager’s reports also do not provide tower specifications, installation dates, project cost, coverage maps, performance results or an explanation of any remaining work, so the service effect of the build remains unknown publicly.

The next meaningful public milestone would be a county meeting record or official update confirming that the equipment has been installed, the system has been tested and the towers have been activated or assigned defined operational roles. Until then, Franklin County has publicly reported substantial construction progress, but residents still do not know when the system will be in service, what coverage it will provide or how its performance will be assessed.