MACC explains tower decision to Grant County commissioners

EPHRATA — Members of the Multi Agency Communications Center and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office discussed the placement of a new radio tower in Moses Lake.

The MACC board decided at their last meeting to pursue a lease for smaller piece of land than they originally intended for a new radio tower. Originally, they were intending to purchase a piece of property near the intersection of state Route 17 and Interstate 90.

This is part of a series of radio tower upgrades funded by a 0.1 percent sales tax increase, approved by voters in 2005.

After nearly two years of hunting for a piece of property, the board decided to find land they could lease on a long term basis, said Dean Hane, the radio communications manager. One piece of property Hane was examining was on the corner of Baseline Road and Potato Hill Road.

While negotiations are ongoing, Hane expected the lease to be about $1,000 a year, he said in a previous interview.

Grant County Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Melvin brought up concerns about whether the signal from the tower would reach inside the Samaritan Healthcare emergency room. Melvin was on MACC’s radio communications committee prior to the board disbanding it.

“Coverage into the ER is hit or miss,” he said. “We know we have a coverage issue there. Will the new Moses Lake site provide coverage in there?” the deputy asked.

Melvin asked if Hane looked at suggestions from the ADCOMM report, finished in 2004, which suggested Boyle Street and Wheeler Road as possible locations for the Moses Lake tower.

Hane said the problem with Boyle Street was one side of the road was residential and the other was the rear of commercial buildings.

“The other problem was the size of the tower,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to work in that neighborhood.”

He said he also asked if he could use land owned by Big Bend Community College, but was turned down.

“We asked if we could purchase 3 acres and they said, ‘No.’ Then we asked if we could lease the land and they said, ‘No,’” Hane said. “I think the issue up there is that there are a lot of people who are waiting for the golden egg.”

Hane added the location of the tower at Baseline Road and Potato Hill Road would provide coverage into Warden and throughout the county 90 percent of the time, according to information he said was provided by vendors.

“That means, if you stood in one location and keyed your microphone 10 times, then nine times there would be a response,” he said. “We’re never going to have 100 percent … It’s going to be a tremendous improvement over what we have now.”

Melvin and Grant County Sheriff Frank DeTrolio pressed Hane on whether the signal would reach the inside of buildings both at Samaritan and in Warden, saying police use their radios more inside than other emergency services.

Hane said presently, he wasn’t considering whether the signal would reach inside buildings because there are too many variables. Although he said he was comfortable about the signal’s reach, it would create a “slippery slope” if they engineered the system for every contingency.

“I do believe Samaritan is important to cover,” he said. “We can put in a building amplifier … I think there’s some definite criteria to what we can put in there. There’s a reason why you can’t use your cellphones in there.”

Hane said he wanted to work with the county and the sheriff’s office, saying they are a “very important user” for MACC.

“We need a commitment from you guys to move forward,” he said. “We need to be together on this. There’s a big benefit for your people.”

DeTrolio responded by saying he feels MACC hasn’t treated the sheriff’s office well.

“You say you don’t want a wall between us. What you don’t seem to understand is that MACC is not responsible for providing E 9-1-1 services, the county is,” he said. “They’re the ones that are responsible. We want to be treated like we’re a big part of this system.”

Hane responded by saying the sheriff’s office is as important as any other customer.

“This work is going to benefit you,” he said.

Melvin said perhaps the reason for the feeling of disconnect was the elimination of the radio communication committee, adding the committee’s purpose was to evaluate these policy decisions.

“There wasn’t the discussion there should have been,” he said. “It didn’t come back to the user agencies.”

Hane and board Chair Roger Hansen, also the fire chief for Grant County Fire District 5, said the radio committee didn’t get the work done when it did exist, pointing to a two-year delay in completing the Quincy radio site.