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County urges sign‑up for New York Alert text campaign; tower balloon test postponed pending clear visibility
Summary
County staff described a statewide New York Alert text sign‑up campaign and explained a county text keyword; communications staff said a planned balloon visibility test for a proposed Story tower was delayed by haze and will be re‑run on a clear morning before geotechnical work proceeds.
County staff urged residents to sign up for New York Alert and gave an update on a planned communications tower site test.
A county emergency staff member said New York State will push an ad campaign allowing residents to sign up for emergency alerts by text; residents can text the word GREEN to a six‑digit code (announced in the campaign) to receive county severe alerts. The staff member said the New York Alert sign‑up sent by text is limited to severe weather, significant utility impacts and major transportation incidents; residents who want more granular or recurring road‑closure notices should sign up through the state portal directly.
Separately, county communications staff (Dan) gave an update on a proposed Story tower site. He said crews ran a visual balloon test to confirm line of sight to the High Hill site but haze reduced visibility (a 13‑mile run was obscured to about nine miles). Dan said the team will re‑run the balloon test on a clear morning; if the visual test confirms line of sight, the county will proceed with geotechnical drilling to design the tower foundation. He said the proposed site is on Route 32 just over the county line and near Story Farms fields.
County staff also described two capital projects tied to communications funding — a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) grant to support a 9‑1‑1 center workstation and a Statewide Interoperable Communications Grant (SICG) to continue tower and communications upgrades — both of which were recorded by the board as carried later in the meeting.
