Radio board weighs moving transmitter off leased hill and into IGA/Vertical Bridge or city-owned towers

The City Radio Board spent the largest portion of its Dec. 22 meeting discussing long-term options for the station’s transmitter site as the lease on the current tower approaches its end. The board is pursuing commercial placement on the IGA-area tower managed by Vertical Bridge, while also asking whether a city-owned tower (police or fire department) could host the antenna with no rent once the capital expense is retired.

Chair said the board will seek concrete proposals and pricing from Vertical Bridge and evaluate parallel options so the station is ready to move before the current lease ends. “We need to poke them maybe before next meeting” to get numbers and potential rent-abatement terms, the Chair said. Members stressed they do not want to pay for two sites simultaneously and asked for clear cost comparisons before choosing a direction.

Board members also discussed operational benefits of a site closer to town, noting the potential reliability and maintenance advantages of a city-proximate tower versus the existing hilltop site, which can be affected by atmospheric conditions. The group discussed making one site the primary and leaving the other as a backup during any transition period.

The board flagged wildlife and permitting constraints as a significant implementation factor. Members noted that active osprey nests can halt tower work until nests are inactive and requested research on the seasonal windows when disturbance is permitted. “An active nest stops all activity on the tower,” a member said, pressing for calendar guidance to inform any construction timing.

Next steps the board requested were: (1) obtain financial proposals and possible abatement offers from Vertical Bridge; (2) seek rough cost estimates for upgrading a city tower (police/fire campus) to host the station; and (3) confirm regulatory windows tied to osprey nesting seasons that could limit construction timing. The board did not take a formal vote on the site at this meeting.