The Fayette

County Commission gave unanimous approval last Saturday to buying the

county's new communications systems from Motorola for $7.6 million.

County administrator

Chris Cofty said the deal is something the county had been trying to work

out for five years when it learned the FCC was selling its current frequency

to Southern Company.

The purchase

will probably be a lease purchase agreement through Motorola over a 10-year

period, but Cofty said it's still to early to know the exact details of

the financing.

When the FCC

sold the frequency, it instructed Southern Company to work with the county

in obtaining a new frequency.

"I told

(county attorney) Bill McNally to try and get about $6 million out of

them, but we'll see," he said.

The county's

original estimate for replacing the system was nearly $10 million, but

county officials have been able to negotiate with existing tower owners

in the county to place their communication centers on the privately-owned

towers.

The county's

emergency departments currently operate on the 806 band, buy Cofty said

the new system, which should be running in June, will be on the 821 band.

"This

is a dual system that will eventually allow us to go completely digital

if we want," he said.

The County

Commission thanked Cofty for his negotiations and urged McNally to get

the best possible deal for the county in his negotiations with southern

Company.