Nov. 2--Mentor residents can get ready to reset their radios.

The city's latest communication attempt will be via 1620 AM, a low-powered radio station, also known as a Highway Advisory Radio. Such stations are used by dozens of communities throughout the Greater Cleveland area, but this will be the first of its kind in Lake County.

The Mentor Emergency Advisory Radio System is scheduled to go on air Thursday and will be used by city officials to make emergency and general public announcements to listeners within a five-mile radius. The system will have the capability to interrupt prerecorded programming with live information on vehicle crashes, road closures, power outages and other such situations as they occur. It will default to the National Weather Service if there is severe weather warning issued.

"In the event of a widespread weather problem and power outage, you still have a battery-powered radio or hand-crank radio, or the radio in your car that we can get information out on," said Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Talcott, who also is the project manager. "We're trying to cover one more base in our communications process."

City Council approved purchasing the $43,936 radio system in July and plans were to be on air within a month. However, it was postponed because of a delay in receiving some of the equipment needed to relocate where the system would be mounted. Another $1,300 was needed to cover the cost of the additional equipment.

"It will make it a more robust installation," Talcott said. "It's the kind of thing you want to do it right the first time, so when it's up and running, it's bulletproof, or as bulletproof as it can be."

The city is using a $20,000 Homeland Security grant reimbursement toward the system.

Mentor Radio 1620 joins Mentor Channel 12 and cityofmentor.com in providing 24-hour information. Static-cling decals about the station are available at city hall. The decals can be applied to windows, refrigerators and plastic surfaces, said Kathie Pohl, director of marketing and community relations.

"They were designed to serve as a quick reminder to folks that, when you want Mentor information, 'We're on TV, online, and on the radio,' " she said.

Mentor Police and Fire departments will receive training this week and designate someone with the authority to call in emergency messages that will override the prerecorded messages.

Fire Chief Richard Harvey has said that the system would have come in handy during such major emergencies as the 2007 CSX train derailment, the 2006 flood, the major power outage of 2005, the 2003 BP tanker rollover/spill and the 2002 marsh fires.

"We also expect it will significantly reduce the number of inappropriate calls for information to our dispatchers," he said.

The closest community with a similar radio system is Mayfield Heights, he said.

Information Station Specialist Inc. of Zeeland, Mich., provided and installed the system, which is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission for noncommercial voice information and cannot include paid advertising or music.

The cost of the system comprises installation, FCC licensing, training assistance and a one-year warranty.

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