Council authorizes county-funded emergency radio tower lease on city property
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Summary
Pullman authorized a lease with Whitman County Emergency Management to remove an aging city radio tower and allow construction of a county-funded replacement tower on Southwest Skyline Drive; the project is funded by a 0.1% county sales tax and estimated at about $750,000.
Pullman City Council authorized a lease allowing Whitman County Emergency Management to construct and maintain a replacement emergency-services communications tower on city-owned property at Southwest Skyline Drive. Police Chief Aaron Beshears described the city’s aging tower and the radio-coverage gaps at the north end of town (near Pullman High School and Kamiak Elementary) and said the county can fund an estimated $750,000 tower using county 0.1% sales-tax resources dedicated to emergency radio infrastructure.
Chief Beshears said the existing city-owned tower must be removed because it is outdated and unsafe; the county requested a roughly 50-by-50-foot fenced site for the new tower and associated equipment. City staff said the arrangement will improve radio signal coverage for Pullman Police, Fire, local fire districts and Whitman County Sheriff operations at no direct cost to the city beyond the land lease. The planning process included public notice and planning-commission review with no successful appeals.
Council approved the lease authorization by voice vote; staff will coordinate demolition of the old structure and construction by Whitman County Emergency Management.
