Atlas Twp. – The Genesee County 911 Consortium announced May 18 it won’t build another tower in Atlas Township.
The consortium has ‘come to terms? regarding co-locating equipment for its 800 MHz emergency dispatch system on the WFUM Channel 28 tower situated near Kipp and Washburn roads, said Lloyd Fayling, Genesee County 911 director.
The agreement to co-locate on the existing 928-foot WFUM tower, which is managed by UM-Ann Arbor, puts an end to the consortium’s earlier plan to erect a 300-foot tower on Gale Road near three Goodrich schools.
Co-locating won’t cost less for Genesee County taxpayers. Although Fayling isn’t releasing any figures, the 20-year lease with WFUM will cost approximately the same amount as previous estimates to build and operate its own tower for 20 years. In addition, the consortium funded the required engineering study. Per the WFUM agreement, the consortium will also pay for any reinforcing required to support the 800 MHz system equipment in Atlas Township. Fayling estimates two six-foot microwave dishes and four to five antennas will be needed.
‘We’re stepping out a little bit further than if we would have to build a tower,? said Fayling. ‘We’re not saving any money by moving (equipment onto WFUM’s tower), and it’s a little restrictive, we can’t put antennas anywhere we want.
‘At the same time, we don’t have to worry about maintaining the tower’that’ll save money.?
In an April 2004 interview with The Citizen, Fayling calculated the cost of building a tower in Atlas Township would cost approximately $284,000.
Thanks to a new ‘very cooperative? working relationship with WFUM, Atlas Township citizens won’t have to worry about building a tower near the schools, says Fayling.
‘We couldn’t just not do anything in Atlas Township, it’s one area we needed to improve coverage in, particularly for the fire department. All too often we couldn’t talk to them.
‘We didn’t go (to Atlas Township) to stir things up with folks,? said Fayling. ‘We recognized there was a great deal of citizen concern; thankfully we found an alternative.We had all but given up, not knowing there was new management in there.?
Although Fayling expects to see the 800 MHz equipment on the tower this summer, the system won’t be operational for approximately 18 months. The tower is one of four planned for Genesee County.