Kentucky officials report progress renewing emergency‑communications leases, but some title issues and construction timelines remain uncertain

A Kentucky State Police representative told a House committee that the Commonwealth is actively renewing and replacing long‑standing leases for the Kentucky Emergency Warning System (KEWS), a microwave backhaul network that supports multiple public‑safety systems, while the state builds a statewide trunked radio system.

The presenter said KEWS comprises roughly 53 communication towers across the Commonwealth that carry services for state and local agencies, Kentucky Educational Television, some university seismology detectors, the Department of Military Affairs communications, and Kentucky State Police’s legacy radio system. He described a multi‑year renewal effort for leases that were established in the 1970s and set to expire in 2026–2028 and said the General Assembly provided funding in the last biennium to renew those arrangements.

"We have had some success in renewing those leases since that funding was awarded to us," the presenter said, and listed concrete milestones: eight existing leases were out for renewal bid at the time of the meeting, and 11 more were scheduled to be released for bid later that quarter. He added that contracts were being circulated to obligate roughly $12,000,000 in additional renewals.

Officials explained that the commonly cited figure of "97" remaining leases refers to lease documents, not individual tower sites. Because access easements and guide‑wire anchor agreements sometimes reside on different parcels, one tower site can require multiple leases; officials noted the portfolio equated to about 66 tower sites once overlapping documents were considered.

The state reported several notable lease outcomes: the Pine Ridge tower in Wolfe County was moved from private property onto U.S. Forest Service land under a long‑term, $0 interagency land lease after structural damage made repair impractical. Officials also negotiated $0 interagency leases with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for sites in Campbell, Owsley and Robertson counties, and a site on Webster County property. Those $0 interagency agreements were described as saving Commonwealth funds while protecting state tower assets.

The presenter said he was optimistic about the overall renewal process but warned that the timeline for completion depends on factors out of the agency’s control. He described one example where title irregularities required a property owner to complete a quiet‑title action before a new lease could be executed; that process will delay renewal at that parcel until the title correction is finished.

Representative Sharp, who said communication coverage in his district is a public‑safety priority, asked whether officials could give a completion date. The presenter declined to offer a firm date for the full statewide program, saying that site acquisition procedures had been improved but that construction timelines and right‑of‑way issues still determine how quickly new towers can be built. He added that the agency had procured equipment for portions of phase 3 of the statewide trunked radio program—specifically equipment covering regions described as Post 8, Post 14 and Post 11—and that equipment procurement will help expedite service in eastern Kentucky.

The agency described the lease work as protecting Commonwealth investments in physical tower assets and in programs such as the statewide SERVES trunked radio system and the Department of Military Affairs communications network.

The committee was given an overview of the procurement and title‑search processes, and officials said they expected to continue obligating funds and executing long‑term lease renewals over the next year, subject to the title and construction issues highlighted in the meeting.

The committee asked for continued updates and thanked the presenters for the progress report.