A view of the Crossroads Center building in Washington.
Washington County officials are refusing to release details of its $24.445 million contract with Motorola Solutions to build the new 911 emergency radio system, claiming it contains proprietary information and could jeopardize public safety if any of the information is released.
The county on Friday denied the Observer-Reporter’s open records request from Sept. 23 – the same day the commissioners approved the Motorola radio system with a 2-1 vote – that asked for the signed contract and proposals submitted by other competitors.
The process has been cloaked in secrecy ever since June 25, when the county accepted proposals from Motorola, North Strabane-based MRA Inc. and BK Technologies of Melbourne, Fla., and later held several closed-door meetings with its public safety committee to review the options.
Only a few details were included in the motion to approve the contract during the special meeting last month, including the overall price and information that there will be 14 tower sites for the system. The motion indicated that the contract includes installation, subscriber equipment throughout the county and life-cycle management from Motorola. Republican Commissioners Nick Sherman and Electra Janis approved the contract while Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi cast the dissenting vote.
After the meeting, the Observer-Reporter submitted its request for the contract and three vendor proposals through the state’s Right To Know Law, and the county asked for a 30-day delay to review the submission.
The county informed Motorola of the open records request, and the Chicago-based company apparently responded that trade secrets and proprietary information were scattered throughout its proposal and contract. However, it’s unclear why county officials responded with a blanket denial rather than redacting any information that would be exempt under the state’s Right To Know Law, which also includes details that could jeopardize public safety.
Melissa Melewsky, a media law attorney with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, questioned why the county refused to release any portion of the contract instead of redacting the parts that may be exempt.
“There may be parts of the proposal that trigger those exceptions, but not the whole thing. At the minimum, you would get a price comparison between the winner and the losers, and I think it should be more than that,” Melewsky said. “A $24 million contract and they say you can’t see that? It’s not just concerning. That’s outrageous. … The public has a right to know how and why this money is being spent. The fact they gave you a blanket denial with no information is outrageous.”
While the county can contact the vendor to alert them of an open records request and ask if there are any trade secrets within the documents, Melewsky said it is up to the government agency – not the company – to make the final decision on what it can and cannot release.
“It’s the agency that must determine what is public,” Melewsky said. “They can’t outsource that to the people submitting contracts. Nothing would ever be released if they did that.”
The Observer-Reporter filed an appeal Monday with the state Office of Open Records, asking the agency to review the denial and require the county to turn over some details within the contract and proposals, even if parts are redacted. That process could take up to two months before the agency makes a final determination, which the county or newspaper could then appeal, depending on the outcome.
County solicitor Gary Sweat declined to comment on the issue Monday.
The 911 emergency radio system has been a divisive topic for nearly two years after the previous county board of commissioners led by then-chairwoman Diana Irey Vaughan awarded a $22.545 million contract to MRA Inc. in March 2023 to build the platform for the public safety department. Maggi sided with Irey Vaughan to approve that contract, while Sherman voted against it since he favored a proposal from Motorola.
Irey Vaughan retired in January and was replaced on the board by Janis, who voted with Sherman in April to terminate the MRA contract and request new builds for the system. Sherman and Janis then voted to select Motorola’s proposals despite the county having already spent $8.5 million on equipment as it began working to install the MRA system last year.
It’s not known when the Motorola system will be installed and operational, as there are several issues that still must be resolved, including possibly additional tower sites. Due to those fluctuating circumstances, a town hall meeting scheduled for Wednesday night at the South Franklin Volunteer Fire Department to discuss the radio system with first responders has been postponed. No new date has been scheduled.
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