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Sagadahoc County staff report new progress, licensing milestones on countywide communications tower project
Summary
County staff reported energized sites, an FCC acceptance of the county's license application and a target go‑live in early Q2; an underground power fault at West Bath and winter weather were noted as potential schedule risks.
County staff provided commissioners a detailed update on progress toward a countywide public-safety and communications tower system and said the project remains on track for an early second-quarter calendar-year go-live despite a utility repair that may affect one site.
Mike, a county staff member working on the project, told the board that crews attempting to energize the West Bath site “discovered damage to an underground primary roadside” and that Central Maine Power has elevated repairs to a supervisor team. He said the county confirmed the damage was off-site and not caused by the county’s construction at the tower location.
Mike also reported work at the Georgetown shelter: “Generator propane tank placement, as well as the additional outside electrical work is being completed, is presumed this week,” and said steel deliveries for another site are expected in about three to four weeks. He told commissioners that the Wind Hill Tower has been energized and that more comprehensive power activation is still pending for additional equipment.
On licensing, Mike said the county received official notice from the Federal Communications Commission last Friday that the county’s application was accepted and that the project had already received two approvals; he said the county expects the remaining approvals shortly and that, if finalized, the licenses would extend to 2036. “We should... be licensed, which will make us until 2036,” he said.
Commissioners asked about schedule risk and whether the West Bath repair would delay the system. Mike said the county has not seen signs that the utility repair will force a program-wide delay, but he warned that cold weather has complicated tower work and placement of equipment.
The chair encouraged staff to continue updating the board and raised the prospect of limited commercial use or leases on tower space: commissioners asked staff to revisit earlier consultant recommendations and to determine whether the county should engage a consultant to market any available lease space on the towers while keeping public safety as the primary objective.
Next steps: staff will monitor CMP repairs at West Bath, continue site work at Georgetown and other tower locations, and report back to the board as FCC approvals are finalized. Commissioners said they expect additional updates as the county approaches the early-Q2 target for system activation.
