BBMWD board approves second radio repeater to close east-end coverage gap

The Big Bear Municipal Water District board voted unanimously on September 3 to purchase a second radio repeater and license from Airwave, filling a communications dead zone that has left the east end of Big Bear Lake poorly served since the district's first repeater went in last May. The fix matters to anyone on the water: reliable radio contact between district staff and crews is a core piece of lake safety and operations coverage.

General Manager Jared Cheek told the board the item involved the purchase of a second repeater and license, noting that communication coverage on the east end of the lake has been limited. A staff member explained that a central installation at the district office had already been tried and ruled out. "A central location at the District office had previously been evaluated but did not provide satisfactory coverage," staff reported, adding that peak elevations would be ideal but are not available to the district^[1]. The Airwave invoice includes a 10% contingency for unforeseen costs^[1].

The board also gave unanimous final approval to a failover server for the district office — an item that had been sent back from a prior meeting after staff discovered a mismatch between the staff report and the vendor quote. The revised package corrected the discrepancy by including sales tax, as reflected in the quote; no changes were made to the proposed equipment^[1].

In his general manager's report, Cheek noted that the State Water Board has issued a warning advisory for potentially harmful algal blooms on the lake^[1]. He also shared that lake launches stand at 6,886 so far in 2026, compared with 8,337 for all of 2025^[1]. Separately, staff held a kickoff meeting with accounting software vendor Caselle and began the first phase of data transfer for the district's new accounting system^[1].

The board's next regular meeting is scheduled for September 17, 2026 at 1:00 PM at the district office, 40524 Lakeview Drive, Big Bear Lake^[1].