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Broadband board working with county’s emergency services

By Sherry Hamilton on March 17, 2021
SHERRY HAMILTON / GAZETTE-JOURNAL Jason Hamill, left, of H&S Development Group in Virginia Beach met with Mathews County emergency services personnel and broadband advisory board members on March 3 to discuss the possibility of building a communications tower at the Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad building at Hudgins. Shown with him, from left, are Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad board member Chris Hudgins, Mathews County Emergency Services Coordinator Willie Love, Mathews Fire Chief Ronnie Lewis, Mathews Broadband Advisory Board Chair Judy Rowe, Mathews Planning and Zoning Director Thomas Jenkins, and the county’s broadband consultant, Jeff Beekhoo of Broadband Telecom Services.

The Mathews Broadband Advisory Board is working with the county’s emergency services agencies to explore the possibility of expanding broadband in the county in conjunction with the agencies’ efforts to create a regional public safety radio network.

Last month, Sheriff Mark Barrick, Fire Chief Donnie Lewis, and Rescue Squad President Chris Buchanan received approval from the Mathews Board of Supervisors to join with King and Queen County in creating the new network. Barrick told the board the cost would be $1 million, and the board approved the request with instructions to begin searching for funding sources.

The system, as proposed by Harris Public Safety Communications, would be for Mathews to connect to King and Queen with a 5GB microwave backhaul connection, said broadband board consultant Jeff Beekhoo of Broadband Telecom Inc. during the broadband board’s meeting on March 2.

This would require the purchase of equipment at a cost of possibly $400,000. Beekhoo said that he...

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