Coffey County emergency management reports tower work; railroad noise prompts response

Emergency Management Director Amber updated the Coffey County Commission on radio-tower work, tower safety and resident complaints about railroad noise.

Amber said the county has received tower parts and is storing them at the landfill building. She reminded the board that the county had signed a contract with Motorola to build new towers and warned that canceling the contract would incur costs. She described a recent safety inspection after commissioners found a bracket on the ground near the courthouse tower; CFM inspected and removed loose hardware and will return next year for a more thorough 'tower cleanup.

"We have started receiving parts for the towers, and we're storing them out at our landfill building," Amber told commissioners. She said CFM will "trace all the cables from the tower clear into our radio room" and replace unnecessary antennas and cables.

Amber also relayed residents' reports that trains passing near the South Veil had recently produced stronger noise and vibration than previously experienced. She said Burlington Northern told county staff the issue was noncritical and had imposed a slow order for the area; the railroad expects to address the problem within about two weeks.

The director said she had given Burlington Northern permission to place a small Wi'Fi microwave dish on a county tower to restore a blocked link to a school-board office; she said the dish would not interfere with county radio signals and would be mounted at a lower height.

Commissioners asked staff to follow up on any additional public notice from Burlington Northern and to track the scheduled tower cleanup and any contract-related costs tied to the Motorola agreement.