County tests proposed radio tower sites in Baldies

By Stephen Clearheart Johnson
North Forty News

Larimer County officials are once again considering a mountain peak in a federal roadless area as an option for a new emergency communications tower.

The topic of a mountaintop radio tower was dormant for more than a year, until the county hired a private contractor to test radio signal coverage for the proposed installation in the Bald Mountains southwest of Red Feather Lakes. The contractor's report was posted on the county web site, www.larimer.org, on Oct. 19.

The test used temporary antennae on both Middle Bald and South Bald mountains to compare actual coverage against predictions from earlier computerized models. The South Bald site, however, is in an inventoried roadless area, which means the Forest Service could reject it outright, as it did in 2003.

What may or may not be allowed in a roadless area is somewhat in flux as the state is trying to get the federal government to accept a Colorado Roadless Rule drafted by a governor's committee after statewide public hearings. Such state plans have been challenged in the federal courts, which have issued conflicting injunctions.

In the process of testing communication coverage in several mountainous locations, the county has reignited opposition from the Mummy Range Institute, a nonprofit group that has strenuously protested the project for visual reasons, for inadequate cost projections, for ignoring other possible technical solutions and for being a poor investment unlikely to give a cost-effective benefit.

Many area residents thought the radio tower controversy was a dead issue for economic reasons. Then in June, Larimer County Commissioners authorized a test by a professional contractor to determine coverage from the mountaintop sites. With both Middle Bald and South Bald as test sites, the study cost about $19,000, according to Steve Schneider, a manager in the county's information technology division.

Schneider has concluded that South Bald would yield more coverage in the rugged terrain of Poudre Canyon, the Laramie River valley and areas surrounding Red Feather Lakes.

"From a technical standpoint," he said. "South Bald is the preferred location."

Schneider also noted that the visual effects of a tower on South Bald would be less controversial than one on Middle Bald. South Bald, however, is located in an inventoried roadless area that would require permitting by the U.S. Forest Service and is likely to cost much more in construction and maintenance than a tower on Middle Bald.

The purpose of the proposed improvements is to increase communications coverage for public safety agencies, such as sheriff, state patrol, fire departments, emergency medical services or search and rescue groups. Inadequate signals or none at all in many mountain areas often hamper safety agencies.

These safety agencies currently use two basic systems: VHF signals for one network and an 800-megahertz system that also ties in with other state agencies. Sheriff deputies report that they sometimes resort to personal cell phones in radio dead spots.

In the recent test, contractor Pericle Communications, under a temporary use permit from the Forest Service, installed antennae with both VHF and 800 MHz transmitters. Then it performed a drive test to measure signal strength inbound to a moving vehicle.

Radio technicians measure coverage by calculating a factor called service area reliability. The recent test showed that existing 800 MHz coverage of the test area was 48.2 percent.

Pericle reported that VHF reception could be increased to 99.3 percent on Middle Bald or to 100 percent on South Bald. Coverage for the 800 MHz system would improve to 78.1 percent on Middle Bald and to 83.6 percent on South Bald. For 800 MHz coupled with other existing sites, Middle Bald would reach 87.9 percent and South Bald would compare at 91.3 percent. Using South Bald would thus increase VHF coverage by 0.7 percent compared with Middle Bald, and networked 800 MHz would improve by 3.4 percent.

MRI member Michael Sledge scoffed at the test results, claiming that Pericle is not a truly independent contractor. Pericle, he said, "gave the county the results they wanted."

MRI member Ben Myers has constructed a web page at www.SaveTheBaldies.org to present the group's side of the controversy.

One MRI member has noted that if the purpose is public safety, the county should include a cell phone transmitter to increase coverage for people who are trying to call for help. No one is considering adding a cell phone transmitter.

Larimer County has posted a web page at www.larimer.org/baldmountain that presents a history of the proposal and includes the Pericle test report. The county commissioners have scheduled a work session at 10 a.m. on Nov. 9 in Fort Collins to hear the Pericle report and staff comments. Although the public is not allowed to speak at such sessions, they are invited to attend.

The elected board of county commissioners will eventually consider whether to go ahead with the project at all, and then decide if better coverage justifies the additional costs of a site on South Bald, including a new environmental assessment or more rigorous environmental impact statement.

A tower on Middle Bald Mountain could cost $5 million to $6 million, according to Save TheBaldies.org. Because the Middle Bald site is on federal land, though not in a roadless area, it also needs Forest Service approval. Much of the cost of a radio tower would depend on whether power lines to the site have to be built underground.

Last year, after spending about $230,000 toward an environmental assessment required by the Forest Service, county commissioners halted the study on using Middle Bald because of budget constraints. The county then used some of the funds allocated to the tower project to purchase more radios.