Iron County agrees to radio maintenance contract

HURLEY — The Iron County Board of Supervisors approved a plan Tuesday to contract with Iron County Sheriff's Department deputy Darrell Petrusha to continue maintaining the county's radio equipment once he retires from the sheriff's department.

Petrusha told the county's Finance Committee May 14, he has been maintaining the county's radios since 1989 and wanted to continue to use his expertise to help the county. He plans to retire this summer.

Based on information provided to the board and the discussion during the finance committee's meetings, Petrusha would be responsible for maintaining the radio system used by the various county departments, as well as making upgrades and improvements to the system as necessary, such as increasing the county's ability to communicate with neighboring departments in Gogebic County.

"Instead of hiring (an outside company) to come up and service the radios, Darrell is going to stay on board and redo it," Board Chairman Joe Pinardi told the Daily Globe after the meeting. "He's been doing all the radio work for the whole county, he does all the lettering for the squad cars. He's going to still do that on a per-hour basis, instead of on a contract as he has been doing. Right now, he charges us 'x' number of dollars per car. It was a win-win situation."

Pinardi explained that in the past when the county has been forced to use an outside company, they have been charged from the minute the workers leave the company's location in Wausau and the county had to pay close to $3,000, whereas the agreement with Petrusha would probably cost the county less than $100.

According to the contract approved by the board, Petrusha will work a maximum of 15 to 20 hours a week at a rate of $20 an hour.

The proposal also called for Petrusha to be provided with a small budget to make the necessary equipment purchases to keep the system operational.