LAWRENCE COUNTY Panel looks at building radio tower

An area radio station is now charging the county for use of its tower.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County commissioners are talking about building their own radio tower to accommodate county 911 communications.
Commissioners started considering the idea after acting 911 director Jeff Parish informed them Thursday that the county will be charged for space it uses on a radio tower owned by Forever Broadcasting in Ellwood City, which operates WKST and WBZY AM radio stations.
Parish said the tower is needed to provide radio transmission between police and firefighters in the southern end of the county and the 911 center, located in New Castle.
The county had been given free use of the tower by the stations' previous owner, Clear Channel Communication, Parish said.
Forever Broadcasting, which bought the stations earlier this year, is asking the county to sign a five-year lease agreement for $6,780 per year, or $565 per month beginning this month.
Parish noted the county pays rent on two other towers it uses. Adelphia Cable leases space on one if its towers for $100 per month and the county pays $812 a month to lease space on a tower located on Cascade Street, he said.
Getting the money
The extra money for the lease will have to come from the commissioners' contingency fund. Parish said it is an eligible expense from the fee the county collects from all land-line telephones, but said that money is already budgeted. He added that the amount collected from land-line telephones continues to shrink as more homes switch exclusively to cellular telephones.
Parish said the state is collecting fees from cellular telephone users but is holding the money until counties meet requirements. He plans to meet with commissioners Monday to explain what they must do to access that money.
Commissioner Steve Craig suggested it would be less costly for the county to build its own tower. Craig said the money the county is paying in rent could easily be paid on a loan for a new county-owned tower.
cioffi@vindy.com