Posted: 8/14/07
Public hearing held on proposed radio towers for Houston County
By Jan Lee Buxengard
For the Caledonia Argus
A public hearing was held on August 8 to provide citizens of Houston County the opportunity to discuss and learn more about a statewide project to improve public safety communications.
The proposed construction of four new towers in the county would accommodate a system designed to provide more reliable radio service for state, county, and local law enforcement and emergency services. Construction would begin during the late fall of 2007 or spring of 2008 at location sites selected in Jefferson, Mayville, Money Creek, and Spring Grove Townships.
About 25 individuals attended the meeting at the Four Seasons Community Center, Caledonia. Two representatives from MnDOTís Electronic Communications presented information and responded to questions and concerns. They were Michael D. Hogan, communications planning director, St. Paul; and Troy Schmidt, radio maintenance supervisor, southeast area, Rochester.
Some history
In 2004, the legislature passed the Homeland Security Bill, directing the Minnesota Departments of Transportation (MnDOT), Public Safety (DPS), and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to plan for, and implement, an 800MHz digital trunked radio system that could be shared by all units of government.
Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response (ARMER) is the interoperable public safety communication system that is being installed statewide.
Originally, the process began in 2002 with the project set up in six phases across the state. Elements in the Governorís recommendation included $1.95 million per year from the 911 Fund to MnDOT to operate phase three of ARMER. Houston County is part of this phase, a $180 to $220 million project that began construction in 2004 in the St. Cloud and Rochester State Patrol Districts.
An additional $1.95 million from the 911 Fund is recommended for fiscal year 2010 and beyond to operate one additional phase. There is also a one-time appropriation of $1.85 million to the DPS to complete detailed design and planning of the remaining phases of the system.
Another one-time appropriation of $3.75 million to the DPS is for use by MnDOT for site acquisition and site development work for the future phases while the final design is completed to ensure the project can be completed in a timely manner. The state has 146 existing towers, and a total of 125 new towers are proposed.
The governor has since recommended doing away with the phased approach and instead moving forward to implement the new system. "The Governor said, ëletís do the whole stateí," Hogan reported.
"The metro area is done -- was started in 1990," Hogan continued. "If the [I35W] bridge had collapsed a few years ago, they wouldnít have had the communications to deal with the tragedy."
"Weíre cannibalizing our equipment to keep it going," he explained about how they are taking parts from other equipment to fix the old in order to get along until the new system is up and running.
Upgrade inevitable
Houston Countyís topography creates a challenge for law enforcement and emergency units trying to communicate with their VHF radio systems. Currently the countyís entire coverage operates off two towers, but upgrades to digital must take place soon, as manufacturers no longer make analog equipment.
"By 2013, all systems we have now will be obsolete," Houston County Sheriff Doug Ely pointed out.
The statewide implementation of a microwave upgrade from 2 GHz to 6 GHz would provide a longer path to and from all towers within Houston County and back to Rochester. Towers would provide seamless radio coverage for state, county, local government, and other local emergency/public safety agencies units at no cost. "The state is the backbone of this upgrade," said Ely.
"This is a public safety system," Hogan pointed out adding, "Crime is no longer just in the big cities. There has to be communications for the sheriff, highway department and emergency services to do their job."
To begin in Houston County, MnDOT contacted Midwest Wireless about the state possibly leasing space on their tower near Caledonia, but Midwest responded their tower was not strong enough to accommodate any additional antennas.
"We put a lot on the tower, including microwave dishes and antennas," Hogan explained. "We reserve the top and prime parts of the tower for public safety."
"Itís really rough terrain here," he pointed about the challenge of determining tower locations in Houston County. Considerations that come to play when selecting a site include elevation, power access, and how long the driveway to the site would be. Also adjacent property must be at a safe distance. Towers cannot be in wetlands or near an airport or landing strip.
Designers developed search areas where the microwave signal, the line of sight, would be able to travel without obstacles. After determining these areas, letters were sent to each landowner in those areas, asking if they would be willing to sell some land to the state of Minnesota, and those interested respondents were contacted.
Four locations
Radio system designers came up with four locations in the county to install new towers: *Caledonia Tower on land owned by Allen and Beth Klinski near Giblin Drive in Mayville Township; *Money Creek Tower at an elevation of 1,137.4 feet on land owned by Max and Bev Benson along Christianson Hill Road in Money Creek Township; *Reno Tower along Jefferson Road in Jefferson Township on land owned by Lyle and Joan Pohlman; *Spring Grove Tower at an elevation of 1,199.6 feet on land owned by Randy and Debra Myhre located next to Myrah Drive.
On July 24, Hogan attended the Houston County board meeting to inform commissioners of the progress of implementing the statewide communication system.
"Itís unusual to have four sites come together like this, Hogan stated at Wednesday nightís hearing. "We normally donít run four towers at the same time, so I asked the county commissioners if we could have one meeting instead of four."
"Twenty miles is the limit the signal will talk," Hogan reported. The distance between the proposed towers: Reno to Caledonia 8 ‡ miles, Caledonia to Money Creek 16 miles, Money Creek to Rochester 18 miles. From Spring Grove to Amherst 17 miles, and then to Rochester. At this time, there is not a direct microwave path from Caledonia to Spring Grove. It goes all the way around, to Rochester and back to Caledonia.
Signal strength is adequate, but never 100 percent, Hogan explained. There are always dead spots even though the signal comes from all directions.
If a tower went down, it would drop its computer capability and work by itself. The microwave link would go to fail mode, and the system would operate at the countyís current capacity. "If you lose todayís tower you have nothing," Hogan stated. "If you lose the new tower, you can link with the other towers."
Construction
To provide room for equipment and supplies, a temporary 350 ft. square easement is used during the three months of construction. Afterwards, the topsoil is put back in place. A 75 ft. x 75 ft. square and driveway is all thatís disrupted when weíre done. If we trash a road with heavy equipment, MnDOT will come in and fix it.
The towers would be constructed three times stronger than required by industry standards for this area. Each 330 feet tall tower would stand on three legs made of solid steel beginning with a base diameter of 6-7 inches, tapering to 4 inches at the top. Each leg is set 20 to 40 feet deep, based on the soil report. Rods, measuring 12-ft. long, serve as a grounding system. Distance between legs is 30 feet. The self-supporting tower (no wires) has a galvanized gray color finish. The white strobe light at the top comes on at dawn and at twilight, a red flashing beacon at the top and mid-tower come on for nighttime visibility. "These towers are not near as intrusive as some you see in this vicinity," Schmidt stated.
The tower will collapse or break at a specific point, Hogan explained while demonstrating folding his upward stretched fingers onto the palm of his hand. "The bending point is based on the weight of the steel. Weíd have to buy six acres of land to have a 100 percent break."
At the base of each tower is a back-up generator located inside a 12 by 30 foot structure made of concrete with brown stone aggregate exterior. Each tower facility would be surrounded with a 7-ft tall, 75 by 75-foot chain link fence, which is wired to the grounding system.
"Itís a silent structure -- doesnít make any noise," Hogan pointed out.
Issues and concerns
Hoganís statement, "The state is exempt from local zoning" did not sit well with several people in attendance. The MnDOT representatives defended themselves saying, "Weíre sent here as agents of the state department. Weíre following the rules of the state." Hogan added, "This does not mean Iím totally disregarding of life and property. The zoning process does drive the project, and we try to meet the zoning ordinances as much as possible."
"For public relations, youíd be better off by our zoning laws," Leonard Myrah, Spring Grove, pointed out.
Gale Diersen, Reno, asked if all property owners were contacted. He reported that a man from Wisconsin purchased some land from him and recently installed a power pole on the site near the proposed tower. "I donít think he is aware of a tower being built. Was he contacted?"
Another concern was that seven dwellings are located within six-tenths of a mile of the tower proposed at Reno. Hogan explained that only three landowners responded with interest in selling land to the state for the tower site. We make the best of what is offered to us. Also, much of that area is state hardwood forest and we try to stay out of forests so we donít have to clear trees.
Robert D. Culver reported there was only one tower on the land he purchased in Money Creek Township in the 1970s. "I bought it to retire on after my teaching career. Now I stand on my property and there are six towers blinking at me. There will be seven with this tower.
"I guess this is a program, and we canít stand in the way of it," Culver concluded with a sigh.
Commissioner Larry Graf inquired about coverage problems on the east side of the county along Highway 61/riverside. Hogan responded that the large towers will be put in and they would come in with smaller towers if needed.
Bob Giblin, who resides near the proposed tower in Mayville Township, asked if the tower would fall on his house. Hogan responded, "It might block your driveway, but it wonít hit your house."
Others expressed concern about lightning, submersible wells, television reception (the older VHF systems have been the only complaints), and livestock health. Ice and wind are a bigger factor than tornadoes. "We go through a process to develop a comprehensive plan to make sure we have that protection," Schmidt noted.
Tower maintenance
"Maintenance is done on a quarterly basis," Schmidt stated. Ed Giblin, who is on the Mayville Township board, asked who would be responsible for plowing the driveway. "We donít have any general expectations. We would like to discuss it with whoever does your plowing. Michael (Hogan) will meet with the county commissioners to create an agreement for these types of expectations."
"Weíre dealing with plenty of issues people arenít going to be happy about," Ann Thompson, County board chairperson, commented. "We just hope we have a system that will help with the safety of our county."
Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
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507/724-3475
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