Glocester approves match for $237,000 USDA grant to replace condemned police communications tower

The Glocester Town Council on March 5 authorized a transfer of $130,000 from a dormant health care reserve set-aside to create a match fund for a $237,000 federal (USDA) grant awarded to replace the town's condemned 120-foot police communications tower.

Finance Director Elizabeth A. Beltran's memo to the council said the tower, which supports VHF and 800-MHz network connections for police, fire, EMA and dispatch, failed an engineering structural analysis and has been condemned for climbing or further load increases. The grant was provided through Senator Jack Reed's office. Accepting the grant requires a local match of $130,000, and the finance director recommended transferring dormant set-aside funds that total approximately $392,477 and were established in FY2010.

Councilors discussed the tower's role in multi-agency communications and whether neighboring districts (fire districts) should contribute because the tower supports multiple users. The council approved the transfer and asked staff to place a request for a follow-up letter asking other users to consider contributing toward the replacement.

Why it matters: The condemned tower affects emergency communications across public safety agencies; replacing it preserves interoperability for dispatch and response.

What the council did: Authorized transferring $130,000 from a dormant health care reserve set-aside into a new match fund for the police tower project and included the match in the proposed FY2027 capital budget. The motion passed by voice vote.

Next steps: Town staff to include the match in the FY2027 capital projects budget and to draft requests to other public-safety partners asking for contributions.