By Dianne Stallings, Ruidoso News
Original publication date: Aug. 22, 2011

LINCOLN COUNTY, N.M. — Within the year, Lincoln County should be sharing a new communication tower on Buck Mountain.

That will mean a more reliable means to contact and receive from emergency services deployed around the county.

“For many years, Lincoln County has occupied a tower owned by Crown Castle on Buck Mountain,” County Manager Tom Stewart told county commissioners at their meeting last week. “The county pays rent for the tower space for emergency medical services and the sheriff’s office. The monthly rental (for two transmitters) is increasing effective Sept. 1 to $412.82 per month or $4,989.84 per year. Crown Castle has not been keeping up the maintenance on the tower and the electrical ground is sporadic, causing frequent problems with county emergency communications.”

Holloman Air Force Base, White Sands Missile Range, Otero County and Lincoln County informally formed a consortium to remedy the problem.

“Holloman has always wanted better communications north of Sierra Blanca for low-flying aircraft,” Stewart said. “White Sands Missile Range wants better microwave communications in the northern portion of the range. Otero County needs a better microwave shot from Alamogordo to Cloudcroft and Lincoln County wants more reliable communications from a properly maintained tower.”

U.S. Forest Service officials also are looking at the opportunity provided by a new tower, he said.

The county’s portion of the project will be about $40,000, he said. Commissioners authorized further discussions to include drafting of an agreement and a mid-year commitment of up to $40,000 for the project.

“This joint communications project is pretty exciting,” the manager said. “We’d be working with a fellow county and with federal agencies. We’d construct the concrete base.”

County Emergency Management Director Travis Atwell said Holloman will kick in $100,000 to cover the cost of the tower and installation, but would like to turn over the project to Lincoln County.

“They said for them to do it, the process is a nightmare,” Atwell said. “Instead, they would cut a check to the county, we’ll handle the process and get it done. We’ll do the concrete pad and skids for the equipment shelter building coming from White Sands Missile Range”

Otero County will cover utility costs for propane and a backup generator, he said.

“The name on the permit will be Lincoln County and we will own the site because we’re the ones here locally and we can respond if there is a problem,” Atwell said.

He’s meeting with U.S. Forest Service officials on where the tower can be built. The paperwork already was initiated. Service officials contribution will be to find a site,” he said, adding, “We want this completed by October of next year.”

At $40,000, in eight years, the cost will be covered compared to rent, Commissioner Kathryn Minter observed. Atwell said the life of a tower is about 30 years.

The site will be further away from surrounding towers, which should reduce interference with signals, Atwell said.

Commissioner Mark Doth asked if the county might add private renters to the tower in the future, but Atwell said that’s unlikely. “We want to keep it a government site so it is secured, with the equipment they’re putting into the building. We could discuss other governmental renters. We have 12 antenna and three microwave dishes so far. We need to see what space available at that point,” he said.

“We are the only entity on the Crown Castle tower,” Stewart said. “When we vacate, that would be the alternative.”

Doth asked if the county could purchase the Crown castle tower, but Atwell said in three years of trying, the owners of Crown Castle were not interested. “They refused to sell it and refused to maintain it,” he said.

County Attorney Alan Morel said. “When you’re buying a tower, you need to look at everything going on it to calculate the loads.”

A Holloman engineer is working on that calculation right now, Atwell said, adding that the Forest Service has “the highest requirements because the last two (towers) have fallen.”

The change, along with the acquisition of the Carrizo Tower, will help the county meet the Jan. 1, 2013, requirements for narrow banding compliance. “That’s a critical aspect going forward,” Stewart said. “People could face significant fines.”

Most current radio systems use 25-kHz-wide channels. The Federal Communication Commission has mandated that all licensees using 25-kHz radio systems migrate to narrowband 12.5-kHz channels by January 1, 2013. The order affects systems on VHF and UHF channels between 150- and 512-MHz. Licensees that do not meet the deadline face the loss of license, according to the FCC website. 

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