The Butler County commissioners Wednesday approved a $140,615 contract with Motorola Solutions for equipment to upgrade the county 911 emergency radio system.

A glitch occurred last month causing the frequency used to contact emergency crews to function intermittently, making it unreliable.

Although the problem did not hinder efforts in responding to 911 calls, county officials wanted a redundant system to eliminate the single point of failure in the network.

The commissioners on Oct. 8 approved the purchase, but did not have an exact cost at that time, necessitating the ratification Wednesday.

County prison

The commissioners approved a mutual aid agreement with Venango County in the event of an emergency evacuation of inmates in either county prison.

The county prison board on Tuesday agreed the agreement was beneficial.

The county already has similar agreements with the state Department of Corrections and Mercer County.

Creek cleanup

Christina Handley, president of the Allegheny Aquatic Alliance, updated the commissioners on the results of the third annual cleanup of Connoquenessing Creek last month.

Handley said despite obstacles such as high water levels delaying the cleanup by weeks, the effort was a success.

She said even with the lowest turnout of volunteers in three years, which was roughly 90 people, they removed 58,600 pounds of garbage, including 532 tires and 30 shopping carts.

Since the cleanup began, volunteers have removed 143,600 pounds of garbage, including 1,400 tires.

Commissioner Dale Pinkerton lauded the volunteers’ efforts.

“It’s just fantastic what you’ve done,” he said.