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Board approves plan to bring fiber, Wi‑Fi and emergency call boxes to parks; Duck Pond Bridge arrives early
Summary
Town Administrator Rob Deary outlined a plan to trench fiber into parks to provide Wi‑Fi and install emergency call boxes routed to police/911, starting with Gedney and Millwood parks; the Duck Pond Bridge was delivered ahead of schedule and will be installed immediately.
The New Castle Town Board heard July 14 a plan to improve park safety and communications by extending fiber to parks, installing Wi‑Fi and placing emergency call boxes that connect directly to the police department or 911.
"We're working right now with Verizon to bring the fiber cable," Town Administrator Rob Deary said, noting the technical challenges of trenching and conduit work to reach park locations. Deary said Gedney (also cited as Gethney in the meeting) and Millwood parks would be prioritized and that call boxes would rely on the new fiber-based Internet connections because cellular service is unreliable in portions of town.
Deary explained the call boxes under consideration would let a user push a button to speak directly to the police or 911 and that once fiber is in place the units themselves are relatively inexpensive to purchase and install. Scheduling depends on Verizon availability and engineering work; no firm start date was provided.
Deary also reported the Duck Pond Bridge for a local project arrived earlier than expected and crews planned to remove the old bridge and install the new bridge within a day or two, with remaining pedestrian-walkway structures along Quaker expected in six to eight weeks.
Board members thanked staff for the work and said they would follow up on timelines once Verizon scheduling is confirmed.
