Bastrop County is planning $4.5 million in projects that would add a new radio tower in the western portion of the county and replace handheld and in-car radios for the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Department. County officials said the upgrades are needed to keep up with the growing population.
The details
The West Radio Tower project is outlined in Bastrop County’s newly adopted Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2026-31.
The 300-foot radio tower would be built on a site—secured through a long-term lease agreement with the Aqua Water Supply Corporation—behind Cedar Creek High School. It would support Bastrop County’s existing simulcast radio system, according to county documents.
A simulcast radio system allows the transmission of the same signal from different radio tower locations over the same frequency at the same time, according to the Tait Radio Academy.
Kevin Unger, the information technology director for Bastrop County, told the Bastrop County Commissioners Court during a Jan. 29 meeting that the West Radio Tower project has been a priority for several years.
“Due to the increase in population in the western part of the country, there needs to be expanded reliable coverage,” according to the CIP. “There have been multiple critical incidents in areas of Bastrop County that have not had radio coverage.”
Zooming in
Other system upgrades that Bastrop County identified include the purchase of 200 new radios from Motorola at a price tag of $1.5 million that would replace an aging radio fleet, according to county documents.
The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Department would largely use the new radios, said Unger.
“This is a critical issue because all agency radio traffic is currently transmitted in the clear with no encryption, meaning anyone can listen,” according to the CIP. “Without radio encryption, suspects are able to elude officers.”
With encrypted radios, Unger highlighted that Bastrop County would also be able to accomplish the following:
- Program all radios remotely while providing additional coverage outside of the county using smart features
- Allow personnel to locate and map responders when they are on foot in real time via a GPS component
The outlook
Bastrop commissioners will re-evaluate both projects before moving forward on radio system upgrades, Unger said.
