Council questions value of $10,000 final wireless master plan after draft fails to meet key deliverables

Council reviewed a draft wireless master plan provided by a consultant and several council members said the draft did not satisfy core requirements the borough had requested. A councilor summarized the problem bluntly: the draft failed to address radio signal quality for first responders, did not differentiate county‑wide coverage assumptions from the borough’s needs, and appeared to defer responsibility for some recommendations to the county without describing how that would be achieved.

One councilor said the draft "did absolutely nothing in terms of first responder fee efficiency" and that the report used county‑level coverage percentages that mask borough‑level gaps. Another councilor suggested asking the vendor to revise the draft with a clear checklist of the three required deliverables and then only authorize the $10,000 final master plan fee if the revised draft meets those items.

Staff and council discussed options: (a) authorize the vendor to produce the final report now; (b) ask the vendor to submit a revision that explicitly addresses the three requested deliverables and then decide whether the final fee is justified; or (c) pause and reallocate the $10,000 if council determines the draft cannot be improved to meet requirements. Council did not vote at the Nov. 5 meeting; staff said they would ask the vendor for clarification about changes that would be included in the final report and return with a recommendation.