City may get low-cost emergency communications system

Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. City officials are considering a proposal from a group of radio enthusiasts for installation of devices on water tanks to serve as a communication network in the eventuality of a major disaster such as a hurricane. Bob Jones manages the local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a group of volunteers that is part of the Citizen's Corp, an implementation of FEMA's National CERT Program. Jones approached the Monticello City Council on Tuesday evening, Feb. 4, with a request for the placement of small devices on the top of the city’s water tanks to build what he called a meshtastic radio system. A meshtastic radio system in generally described as