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Haywood County approves $139,957.78 design agreement for Lake Logan communications tower
Summary
The board approved a Hycaps design and engineering agreement funded by ARPA and included in the FY budget to address chronic public‑safety radio coverage gaps in the Lake Logan/Inman Branch area; staff expect design deliverables by late November and subsequent construction bidding.
Haywood County commissioners unanimously approved a $139,957.78 design and engineering agreement with Hycaps (contractor) to design a communications tower in the Lake Logan / Inman Branch area aimed at resolving long‑standing public‑safety radio coverage gaps.
Joey Webb Jr., chief information officer, introduced the Hycaps team and said the project is funded indirectly through ARPA funds and included in the county’s approved fiscal year budget. Eric Mattingly (Hycaps) described that the tower is primarily intended to support public‑safety radio for the sheriff, EMS and fire departments and secondarily to provide potential colocation for cellular carriers and some broadband service for residents in the Lake Logan corridor. “This tower is designed primarily to correct those coverage issues for our public safety radio system,” Mattingly said.
Commissioners asked about schedule and property control; staff said the county has a lease option on a chosen parcel, that surveys and geotechnical borings remain to be completed, and that Hycaps expects a design to present to the county by the end of November, with bidding and construction to follow depending on site work and weather. Commissioner comment emphasized the public‑safety value: commissioners cited frequent 911 and responder coverage issues in the corridor and said the structure will help rescue teams, tourist‑season incident response and residents who currently face dead zones.
A motion to approve the design agreement was moved and seconded and passed unanimously; staff will proceed with surveys, borings and design milestones and return with the design for future bidding and construction scheduling.
