Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Town Can’t Say No To Radio

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 07:34:25 -0400

Town Can’t Say No To Radio
By  Kitty Merrill

The United States Coast Guard has made a request the town can’t refuse. Local
officials can’t refuse -- not because the appeal is so beguiling, but because,
under Homeland Security law, they can’t say no to the proposed erection of a
300-foot radio tower for public safety purposes.  The Town Board learned about the
proposed tower last week during discussion with Town Police Chief Todd Sarris
about a proposal to enhance radio communications with his department by
constructing additional monopoles. (More on that later.)

Planning director Marguerite Wolffsohn was sitting in on the work session and
informed those present of the Coast Guard’s plan. Perhaps the Town PD could
co-locate its devices on the Coast Guard tower, thus eliminating at least one
unsightly structure, she suggested.  Wolffsohn said she, the town’s wireless
manager Kathy Radziewicz (a consultant), Ted Krienes, and Town Attorney Jon Tarbet
met recently with site acquisition specialist Danielle Waechter from the scouting
company Communication Services Inc. The planning director said the Coast Guard is
looking to place the tower at the tower farm near the Montauk dump. Wolffsohn
recalled that Waechter was "somewhat flexible" about the location of the tower.

"They said they’d do whatever they can with the siting, and will investigate all
the alternatives we want," she said. If a private mobile service provider wanted
to build such a tall tower, the town would likely require the compilation of an
Environmental Impact Statement -- a comprehensive document that looks at all
possible environmental impacts, as well as ways to mitigate them. Wolffsohn said
the consultant was aware that an EIS might be required.
Nationwide Program

According to spokesman Chief Dave French, the Coast Guard is visiting sites on
eastern Long Island as part of its Rescue 21 program. "We normally like to look
for existing towers that we can find and just modify," he explained. That’s the
most economic method. The next option is to build a new tower on Coast Guard
property. Building a brand new tower, he said, "is way down on our list of goals"
because of the cost.

A brochure on the program states that Rescue 21 is an advanced search and rescue
communications system that helps more effectively locate and assist boaters in
distress. The 300-foot tower is designed to receive distress calls from as far
away as 20 nautical miles, and can more accurately determine the location of a
vessel in trouble. Rescue 21 is a national system, and towers "are going up
everywhere," Chief French said. The Long Island area is scheduled for the
improvements during the fiscal year 2004, he reported.

The system is geared to provide more seamless coordination with such land-based
operations as 911 systems. "The whole goal is to make communication between
agencies easier," Chief French related.  So the notion of co-location of other
agencies on the tower may be feasible.  Communication Services Inc. is due to
submit its report and recommendations to the Guard within the next several months.
After that, according to Chief French, "We’ll have public meetings and hearings to
determine the best location. We understand that these are sensitive areas and want
to minimize any impact."

Krienes was not so sure. A nationally known tower expert, he doesn’t believe the
Coast Guard needs such a tall tower to meet its needs. He speculated that the real
reason for the extensive height is so that eventually private firms can co-locate
their equipment and generate revenue for the Coasties. The town has been working
for four years to find a way to regulate towers, with the policy being that the
preference is for more, smaller towers to get the same, if not better efficiency
as a giant site. The visit from the site specialist, Krienes said, "is just the
prelude to a long story."

No Choice?

Wolffsohn was more optimistic, as well as pragmatic. She pointed out that, if the
Coast Guard erects a 300-foot tower, other existing users at the Montauk farm
could co-locate and eliminate their structures.  She allowed: "This is the
opposite of the way our code is, but we have no choice." "No choice" were the
words police liaison Diana Weir used when asked about the proposal to expand Town
Police portable radio coverage -- one that could mean two additional cell sites,
which, with the planned monopole at the new headquarters in Wainscott, could carry
a price-tag of over $3 million.  "These are for emergency use, not for
telecommunications. Public health and safety are what government is about," the
Councilwoman said.

The current system for the cops’ portable radios -- those are the ones they wear
and carry as opposed to the ones in their cars, which are called mobile radios --
has issues. According to a report prepared by Motorola, "Terrain impacts portable
radio coverage, creating ‘shadow’ areas and dead spots." The company recommends
three additional transmitter/receiver sites -- at police headquarters in
Wainscott, at the Amagansett Firehouse, and at an old radio site off East Lake
Drive in Montauk on Suffolk County Park land.

According to the report, Amagansett is currently negotiating to have a cell tower
go in, which the town could also use. Town Police Chief Todd Sarris said Wolffsohn
mentioned that perhaps use could be made of the existing flagpole to hide the
technology. The Montauk Fire District has already received approval from the
county to construct a site, which can be used by the town, the report explains.
Radio sites in the three new areas will provide near seamless coverage, with the
exception of one last area --Northwest Harbor. There, the town is still
considering alternatives.  The concept of using the Coast Guard tower as one site
is "all hypothetical at this juncture," Chief Sarris pointed out. Whichever way
the microwaves go, either with a co-location or new monopoles, he emphasized,
"We’re going to make every attempt to be sensitive to the wishes of the
community." But, he stressed, "Public safety is paramount."

http://www.indyeastend.com/detail.asp?cat=news&article=1148

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