Butler County will explore all its options to address county emergency services needs.

The county commissioners Wednesday approved a $71,769 contract with Mission Critical Partners of Centre County to explore ways for upgrading the county 911 radio system and replacing frequencies being taken away by the federal government.

The commissioners voted 2 to 1 for the contract. Commissioner Jim Eckstein dissented, saying he would rather determine the cost for one frequency option.

Eckstein reiterated finding alternate UHF frequencies is the preferable choice, so reviewing anything else now is premature.

“I want to study the cheapest first,” he said.

Eckstein compared the situation to buying a $400 toilet seat.

He maintains UHF is better than VHF due to cost and more effective reception.

Steve Bicehouse previously said the acquisition of UHF frequencies could end up being more costly.

Commissioner Bill McCarrier, board chairman, defended the expense.

“This study is a comprehensive study of all our needs,” McCarrier said.

Commissioner Dale Pinkerton agreed.

“I believe it’s necessary to do the entire study,” Pinkerton said.

Eckstein said he polled 16 people who agreed pursuing UHF frequencies is best.

Bicehouse said in an interview there are other options to review, such as UHF trunking, which is a digital system instead of analog.

He said trunking requires fewer frequencies, which costs more than an analog system but is less expensive than the VHF option.

“Doing a full study will give us a better picture,” Bicehouse said.

The county is working under two deadlines to address the emergency service needs.

A 2012 federal law mandates the Federal Communications Commission take away the use of the T-band spectrum radio frequency from emergency services by 2022 and auction it off to the private sector.

The county is among the areas across the country using that frequency.

The other deadline is that Motorola will no longer support the radio equipment used by the county by the end of 2018.