Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Communications Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Officials outline MARCS radio tower plan, neighbor outreach after resident concern
Summary
Safety officials told the Public Safety Committee that a preferred Oak Street site for a MARCS radio tower was chosen after propagation studies and a $170,000 state capital grant; FAA approvals remain pending and staff plan direct neighbor outreach before zoning steps.
Director Dan Chafin provided a multi-year timeline for the city’s efforts to address gaps in radio coverage after Wadsworth’s switch to a digital MARCS system. Chafin said earlier options—putting equipment on water towers and on a FirstEnergy STAR Substation tower—were declined or failed structural review, and MARCS testing and programming changes produced improvements but left gaps in coverage. A propagation study and cost review led staff to propose a 180-foot monopole on an Oak Street, city-owned parcel behind the Parsons Education Building (now referred to as Grizzly Academy).
Chafin said the City was awarded $170,000 in State Capital grant funds to support the project and MARCS has offered to provide the equipment shelter, generator, HVAC and propane tank in kind. He said the Police Department has already acquired compatible radio equipment from Summit and Portage counties at no cost, and that the project footprint benefits from a higher-elevation site so the monopole can be shorter and less intrusive than a larger lattice tower.
Chafin warned that FAA approval is the current critical path item; consultants report that delays in federal approvals (including staffing impacts from partial government shutdowns) have slowed design work and permits. Council Member Jon Yurchiak said he had received a call from an Oak Street resident upset that a tower could be "in their backyard," and Chafin said staff will prepare a fact sheet and neighborhood outreach plan prior to zoning hearings and before any formal construction steps.
