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LaSalle County committee forwards Serena-area radio tower purchase to full board
Summary
The Property Committee voted to forward to the full LaSalle County Board a proposal for the county to acquire a 400-foot radio tower and associated land and building in the Serena area; the county would hold title while the ETSB would fund purchase and upkeep under a lease.
The LaSalle County Property Committee on Feb. 8 voted to forward to the full county board a plan for the county to buy a radio tower site in the Serena area so the county’s emergency services have expanded radio coverage.
Sheriff said the county has “the opportunity to purchase a radio tower from our previous radio vendor” after that vendor was sold and divested its towers. He said the tower is “up in the Serena area” and that the proposal could substantially improve coverage in parts of the county with known reception problems. “Potentially would improve our coverage by, they're saying up to 100%,” he said, citing expected improvements in the Lake Holiday and Sheridan areas.
The seller’s package, the sheriff said, includes the tower, the building that houses generators and repeaters, and the land. He said the asking price was agreed at 45,000 for the whole property and described the parcel as “sitting on 7 acres” with a “400 foot radio tower.” The county would take title because the ETSB (Emergency Telephone System Board) cannot hold ownership of land; the ETSB would pay the purchase price and then lease the site from the county. “The ETSB will fully fund the purchase. The ETSB will also be responsible for all upkeep and maintenance on the tower and the property as well as any equipment,” the sheriff said. He added that the county’s counsel, Assistant State’s Attorney Herman, has obtained documents from the seller and will help draft lease terms “like a dollar a year or something of that nature.”
Committee members asked clarifying questions about what is included in the sale and current use of the tower. The sheriff said the county’s radios had not been moved to that tower by the prior vendor and that the county currently uses a much shorter (about 200-foot) tower in the area. Committee chair moved to forward the purchase proposal to the full board; the motion carried.
Why it matters: the purchase would give the county ownership of the site while the ETSB funds it and assumes maintenance costs, a structure the sheriff described as a pass-through purchase with a subsequent lease to the ETSB.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to forward the radio tower purchase to the full LaSalle County Board: motion carried (mover: Gary; second: not specified in transcript).
