Firefighters, police and other emergency crews have been having trouble with radio coverage in the southwest part of Queen Creek, and the town's fix runs through a single strand of fiber to Mesa.
The Town Council is scheduled on Wednesday, Nov. 4, to consider a fiber access agreement with the City of Mesa. It sits on the consent agenda, where items are usually approved together in one vote unless a council member pulls one for discussion. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Chambers, 20727 E. Civic Parkway.
How the connection works
Queen Creek and Mesa both belong to the TOPAZ Regional Wireless Cooperative, which runs mission-critical radio communications for its nine member agencies.
According to a staff report from Information Technology Director Mike Black and GIS Manager Shawny Ekadis, the town has been working with Mesa to connect fiber running from Queen Creek Fire Station 2 to Mesa Fire Station 219, using open strands in fiber paths each city already owns.
The agreement would guarantee that the two networks stay connected and that cooperative radio equipment can be tied in. Town IT staff have already done much of the installation, including the cabinet that houses the communications gear, the report says.
Staff list three benefits: lower operating and capital costs for the radio network, better and more resilient coverage for public safety radios, and closer work between the two cities.
