The Barton County Sheriff’s Office announced in April that their department is in the process of fully switching over to 800 MHz radios from the UHF system. The switch allows the Sheriff’s Office better coverage of communication in Barton County and around the state.

Great Bend Interim City Administrator George Kolb informed the Great Bend City Council Monday night that the City of Great Bend will not be switching over to the new system until infrastructure improves in the City.

George Kolb Audio

Kolb noted the plan is to start the first conversion this August and continue to improve the infrastructure to be prepared for the full switch in 2020. The process of transferring over to the 800 MHz radios from the 400 MHz radios will be a significant financial investment, something that will be discussed in the upcoming budgets.

The new communication system allows law enforcement and emergency responders to communicate with most other agencies statewide. The Sheriff’s Office indicated their department will switch back to the old UHF system during severe weather so citizens can monitor traffic on the older analog scanners.