Lake County supervisors direct staff to pursue NOAA Weather Radio coverage from Mount Saint Helena

At a Lake County Board of Supervisors meeting, members agreed by consensus to ask staff to reopen negotiations and seek funding and technical analysis to place a NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) transmitter on Mount Saint Helena to fill emergency-communications gaps in South Lake County.

The item grew from reports that NWR broadcasts from Mount Saint Helena do not reach many areas on the south shore of Clear Lake, including Cobb, Middletown and Clear Lake Oaks, and that those gaps could leave first responders and residents without redundant radio information during disasters. Fire and emergency managers told supervisors a tower on Mount Saint Helena could provide redundancy for first-responder communications and collect weather data for areas currently underserved.

Chief Paul Duncan, Lake County Fire Protection District, said he supported “adding the radio up to Mount Saint Helena” because it would deliver important coverage to South County and Clear Lake neighborhoods not currently served. Supervisors and staff said a previous effort included grant funding to cover equipment costs for the first three years but not ongoing rental of tower space.

According to the discussion, Middletown Rancheria had obtained a grant that would have covered equipment costs for three years; rental of the existing infrastructure on Mount Saint Helena had been estimated at about $16,000 per year. Speakers said the grant did not allow deployment until there was a clearer plan for ongoing rental funding, and those involved had not identified how long-term rent would be paid.

Supervisors stressed several options and concerns. Supervisor Sabate said the county should not assume ongoing ownership of NOAA equipment and suggested pursuing NOAA funding and raising the matter with Congressman Mike Thompson to seek federal budget support. Supervisor Piusz urged more technical review of coverage maps and newer technologies, and recommended the issue be taken to the county’s disaster council so cities, fire districts, police and other partners can participate.

Leah (OES staff) displayed National Weather Service coverage maps during the meeting and noted the coverage gap overlaps into parts of Colusa and Yolo counties; she said staff could produce projected coverage maps for Mount Saint Helena and also compare changes in cellular coverage over the past five to ten years to see whether newer cellular infrastructure reduces the need or scope of an NWR installation.

Board members settled on a staff-driven path: administrative staff (identified in the meeting as Matthew Rothstein) will contact Congressman Thompson’s office to explore federal funding options, and the county Office of Emergency Services will prepare cost and technical options and bring the item to the disaster council for a broader interagency discussion. Supervisors said they would re-invite Middletown Rancheria to participate because the tribe had been involved previously and had access to grant funding.

No formal motion was made to allocate county funds or to commit to paying ongoing rental costs. Board members said they were seeking only a tentative commitment to keep discussions alive and produce staff analysis and public input before any financial commitment.

Next steps identified by the board include outreach to Congressman Mike Thompson’s office, further technical analysis and cost estimates from OES, and presentation to the disaster council (the board discussed scheduling the matter for the council’s March meeting).