Construction is expected to begin this week on the new communications tower on the ridge of State Road 135 North.
The tower is to be built above the Bean Blossom overlook, next to land that was recently logged by order of Brown County Parks and Recreation.
The widespread cut in the valley was not related to the construction of this tower. However, when residents brought up concerns about the logging, construction of the tower halted while restrictions listed in the property deed were checked out. One of them was about the building of manmade structures.
Sheriff Scott Southerland said last week that construction could now begin on the tower because a partial release of deed restrictions was signed on Sept. 5 by the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources and the state’s Department of Administration.
Parks and rec owns the land where the tower sits and where the logging occurred. The parks and rec board had donated a portion of it to the county commissioners for the tower.
Initially, the plan was to have the tower at the top of the overlook; then, its fence and storage shed would be camouflaged by the trees in the area. Then, however, a lot of those trees were removed when parks and rec did its cut.
The tower is being paid for with part of a $2 million capital improvement bond, which will be paid back with property taxes.
“This is the prime site for this tower, because it is on land already owned by the county, but more importantly, because it is a location with high enough ground elevation to work well and make a significant difference to the radio coverage,” Southerland said.
The new tower will help fill holes in the county’s primary radio system caused by hills and valleys. In some areas of the county, officers are without cellphone service or radio coverage.
Besides the sheriff’s department, state police, conservation officers, fire departments and other public safety agencies will benefit from this tower, Southerland said.
The 30-plus-year-old communication system they’re working through now is based in Brown County State Park. That will be moved to the new tower site.
“This system has been in place for decades and is still in daily use to dispatch and communicate with ambulances and is the backup plan for law enforcement. While it still works, it has become unreliable and there is a risk it could fail,” Southerland said.
A different state tower in the park will still be used, which is on the statewide 800 mHz radio system. The new tower will add on to that system to cover areas where there is no communication now.
The county signed a contract with Motorola last September for $963,420 to build and equip the new tower. REMC will supply electricity and a backup generator to the site at no cost in exchange for using the tower for their own truck communications.
The restrictions in the deed for this property came to light when county residents began voicing their opinions about the tree cutting along 135 North. A statutory quit-claim deed was recorded in April 1986 in which the governor, the state auditor, and the director of the Department of Administration transferred {span}nearly 160 acres on both sides of State Road 135 North to the Brown County Parks and Recreation Department.
The deed prohibits manmade structures within 300 feet of the highway, and also prohibits clear-cutting the trees.
This partial release of restrictions allows for the tower to be placed on the proposed site without violating the deed, but the rest of the property remains under the restrictions.
Earlier this year, the Brown County Regional Sewer District Board approached the parks and rec board about using a portion of the deeded land to build a treatment plant at the bottom of the Bean Blossom hill. The parks and rec board denied that request. This partial release does not apply to that property.
