Published: July 04, 2009 11:21 pm      

New towers will improve emergency radio capabilities

Grant paving way for construction in Allegany County’s outlying areas

CUMBERLAND — A federal grant will pave the way toward improved emergency communications in outlying areas of Allegany County and, in the future, could lead to a new revenue source.

Dick DeVore, acting chief of the county’s 911 Joint Communications Division, received approval Thursday from the county commissioners to sign agreements with property owners in Barton, Westernport and Mount Savage that will allow for the construction of three new emergency radio communications towers.

Operability in those areas, DeVore said, are “in critical and dire need of upgrade. This goes a long way” in improving those capabilities.

Allegany County received a $1.2 million Public Safety Interoperability grant to construct the towers but still was $300,000 short, DeVore said. The state of Maryland agreed to provide those funds in exchange for being able to use those towers as needed. The majority of the grant is funded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Communications.

The land lease agreement with BTC Development Co. in Barton allows construction of a new tower on the northeastern-most point of Barnes Hill overlooking the town of Barton. The Moran Coal Co., based in Westernport, is allowing a replacement tower to be constructed on the northeastern-most point of Franklin Hills at the end of Mountain Top Road.

A makeshift tower arrangement in Westernport was lost seven months ago, DeVore said, due to structural issues.

In Mount Savage, the Allegany County Board of Education has agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding with the county to allow construction of a new tower behind Mount Savage School on the old tennis courts.

DeVore said the county and state are partnering in bringing a statewide 700 megahertz communications system on line.

“In order to do that, you have to have a large number of towers to provide (the necessary) level of coverage,” DeVore said.

A residual effect of those towers could be improved civilian cellular phone service in areas such as Mount Savage and Westernport. It requires only a service provider to co-locate on an individual tower. The revenue would go to Allegany County.

DeVore said construction permits must go through an environmental review process, which could take up to six months. The equipment then must be purchased. He said construction could begin next spring.

Other emergency radio communications towers stand atop Dans Mountain, Big Savage Mountain, Warrior Mountain, in Cumberland and Town Hill, DeVore said. The state currently is building another tower on Martin’s Mountain.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.