MIDDLETOWN — Butler County is re-evaluating its proposal to build a 300-foot tower in the Manchester Park area as part of its 14-tower network for a new 800-megahertz emergency radio system.
Matthew Franke, project manager for the county's public radio system, said the county is trying to reconfigure the network to accommodate residents who objected to the plans at last month's Middletown Planning Commission meeting.
"We have no real clear direction and we're looking at three alternatives," he said. "We're trying to be accommodating to them. It also showed how important that site was with that elevation."
Franke said the taller elevation on the higher ground helped to overcome the dead areas along the Great Miami River corridor, the downtown area, AK Steel Corp.'s Middletown Works and portions of Madison Twp. as well as North Verity Parkway.
Also prompting the county's review, Franke said, was recent notification from the Federal Aviation Administration that it only would approve a tower up to 182 feet on the city-owned property northwest of Fielders Way and Autumn Drive next to the water tower.
Franke said the county has not decided whether to appeal the FAA decision, and said the tower's location would not affect the main runway at Hook Field Municipal Airport.
The new radio network is needed for clear public safety communications throughout the county, Franke said. It also would satisfy a federal mandate to local and county governments to upgrade public safety frequencies and technologies. The radio system upgrade is being funded through the county sales tax.
Franke said he expects to return to the Planning Commission this month or in July to present the county's request for a tower.
Mike Bruck, Middletown's police chief, said the county's radio network is critical to covering the north end of the city and the downtown area. He said the upgraded system would eliminate some of the dead spots as well.
Bruck said the city has several antennas for its radio system but they are not compatible to the 800-megahertz system, which is currently being used by Warren, Hamilton and Montgomery counties.
"It's a totally different system with different requirements," Bruck said.
John Sawyer, a local Realtor who questioned the location of the proposed tower at last month's Planning Commission meeting, said he is not convinced there isn't a better site for the county's radio tower.
"It would be nice to find a site that was not so residential," Sawyer said. "(A tower) takes away from the aesthetics of the neighborhood."
The Planning Commission next meets June 13 at the Middletown City Building, One Donham Plaza.
