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By LOHR McKINSTRY
ELIZABETHTOWN — Essex County now has a manager for its public-safety radio project and a consultant headed out to visit possible microwave relay sites.
It also has a special counsel who will negotiate leases with radio-tower owners.
The county's planned $10 million emergency radio network will use microwave relays at 16 sites throughout the region. Some of the sites, such as Belfry Mountain in Moriah, are already in use by the county, but most will be new installations.
The county hired Federal Engineering of Fairfax, Va., to manage the project for $238,695.
"This is an important step in the radio project to provide for project management so that we can move forward with the radio project," County Manager Daniel Palmer said.
He said the county will share tower space at some sites with New York State Electric & Gas or State Police.
The county also authorized a contract with Alcatel-Lucent to provide a quote under state contract prices for physical studies of all 16 sites.
"This is for an actual physical-path survey," Palmer said. "The path studies we have done before really are just done on a computer. They go out from site to site ... to make sure (of) our proposed antenna heights, all of those things that we need for the microwave dishes.
"The radio project is going fairly well. This is a pretty strong plan that we have put together. I think in the long haul this will provide for a reduced cost in this project."
The plan includes redundant systems, so if one relay site fails, the county can switch to another.
Palmer said they've met with Adirondack Park Agency representatives and gone over the plan but need the site studies.
"Part of the process of getting permit applications is that you identify the actual height on the towers and whether they (microwave dishes) clear tree height and those kinds of things. This is another step forward in the radio project."
The county will use seven combination VHF transmitter and microwave sites and nine microwave-only sites to relay communications.
The new radio system will replace one built in the 1950s and provide two-way communications for law-enforcement, fire and ambulance departments, highway crews and other municipal agencies.
The VHF high-band frequencies for the system were recently awarded to the county by the Federal Communications Commission.
The $25,000 limit was changed to $75,000 for a contract with communications attorney Jacqueline Murray of Clifton Park, so she could continue working on tower and site leases. Palmer said Murray charges the county her hourly rate.
Palmer praised Murray for securing the needed leases.
"She does a tremendous job. Sometimes when you get consultants you don't know, but she has done a really excellent job."
E-mail Lohr McKinstry at: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com
