County stops Middle Bald radio project

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

Citing budget woes, Larimer County Commissioners on July 29 shelved the Middle Bald Mountain communications tower project. The project, in the works for several years, would have provided better radio coverage in the upper Poudre Canyon for law enforcement, firefighters and other emergency responders.

The project had drawn the ire of many residents in the Red Feather Lakes area, who objected to the prospect of a large tower on Middle Bald's skyline.

Commissioners voted to stop the environmental review process that the U.S. Forest Service had begun for the Middle Bald site. That action freed up $210,000, which will now be returned to the county's general fund.

The commissioners had also earmarked $1.2 million from 2007 carryover funds as seed money for building the communications tower. Instead, they voted to use $400,000 to finish outfitting sheriff's office deputies with new 800-megahertz radios. The Sheriff's Office has gradually been shifting from VHF radios to 800-megahertz equipment. The balance of the $1.2 million will remain in the general fund.

David Rowe, microwave/radio systems administrator for the county, noted that the issue of poor communication in the Poudre Canyon remains.