New tower would have improved communication during an emergency. No one told the neighbors

The voices of the public were heard in Manatee County commission chambers Tuesday, as elected officials voted to stop the construction of a much needed public safety radio tower after nearby residents complained no one told them about the project.

The purpose of the nearly $1 million tower is to address a communication "dead zone" in the University Parkway corridor, said Paul Alexander, Manatee County's director of information technology services. Currently, if firefighters, sheriff's deputies or paramedics go into a concrete building in south Manatee County, it 's likely their radio signal will cut out, severely affecting their ability to communicate.

But this was not communicated to nearby residents, who told commissioners they were only notified about the 185-foot tower until after construction already started.

"This tower is now located 88.8 feet from our residential property," said Gary Adams, who lives just north of the county-owned land at 7510 Prospect Road. He and other residents felt that approval of the plans was done in secrecy.

Diane Adams, who joined her husband and about 20 others at the r commission meeting, said they were "shocked" when they received the notice. They thought that it was work being done to build a park.

Commissioner Carol Whitmore made a motion to stop construction until they could hold a public meeting that would answer how much it would cost to move the tower and how long the delay would be. The vote was 6-1, with Chairwoman Priscilla Whisenant Trace dissenting.

"I'm really disappointed but not surprised by what's going on," Commissioner Betsy Benac said. "I don't say this very often, but I think this government dropped the ball."

Budget appropriations for the overall P25 public safety communication project — of which the Kinnan tower was a part — would have gone before the board of county commissioners for approval. But the location for the tower and other details were allowed to be approved administratively.

"I followed the procedure," Alexander said. "A hearing was not part of the process."

Alexander noted that a more ideal location would have been at the new transit station but since it would be in the flight path of Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, they would have had to shorten the tower by about 25 feet, decreasing the signal reach.

In a February 2016 workshop, commissioners had asked if the tower's location could be moved more west, but the proximity to the airport was still an issue.

If officials eventually decide to relocate the tower, it could take anywhere between six to 12 months and cost between $250,000 and $350,000 just for the engineering and design work. There's also a possible fee that would have to be paid to the construction company for a delay.

Alexander added there is some risk in waiting to build the tower. The entire system is aging, and adding this tower would "significantly improve coverage."

"There is a sense of urgency getting to the finish line and getting a system in that is reliable and we can depend on," he said.

Toward the end of the regular meeting, county commissioners discussed what ways they could prevent something like this — "another million dollar problem," as Chairwoman Trace put it — from happening again.

"In my opinion, someone needs to be held responsible for this," said Commissioner Robin DiSabatino, who represents the affected neighborhood.

Commissioners unanimously supported a motion to look into possibly amending the land development code to require public hearings for government-related projects of this nature.

This story was originally published May 22, 2018 at 3:52 PM with the headline "New tower would have improved communication during an emergency. No one told the neighbors."