Tower added to Services Center prepares county for ARMER

A new fixture joined the few objects extending into the sky above Alexandria on Monday.

A 100-foot monopole tower was erected at the northeast corner of the Services Center building to prepare Douglas County for the Allied Radio Matrix Emergency Response (ARMER) system anticipated to be live on November 1.

ARMER will make communication between law enforcement, fire and emergency personnel on federal, state, county and local levels more fluid than it has been in the past by operating on an 800-megahertz nano frequency. The frequency opens up more channels to transmit information.

Towers have also been installed in Garfield and Hoffman. Being in-line with the Garfield tower allowed the Alexandria pole to be 20-feet shorter than the usual height. The pole, anchored on the ground, is silver in color and designed to be less obtrusive against the skyline than the red and white towers scattered around the area.

Structural Buildings Inc., located in Becker, submitted the lowest bid out of six received for the monopole project. The county originally budgeted $150,000; it cost $105,564.

Structural Buildings raised six towers prior to the one in Douglas County. The tower stands directly above where the sheriff’s office will be located once construction is complete on the Services Center building.

Crystal Dey

Crystal Dey is a staff reporter for the Echo Press. Originally from Minnesota’s Iron Range, Dey worked for newspapers in North Dakota, Florida and Connecticut before returning to her home state to join the Echo Press in October 2011. Dey studied Mass Communications at Minnesota State University Moorhead with an emphasis in Online Journalism. Follow Staff Reporter Crystal Dey on Twitter at @CrystalDey_Echo.

Tags: local news, structural buildings, services center, news, updates, armer, monopole