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Southold’s radio problems a benefit for Shelter Island

JULIE LANE PHOTO Fire Commissioner Larry Lechmanski told his colleagues Monday night that Southold’s bad fortune was Shelter Island’s good luck when it comes to upgrading its radios.
JULIE LANE PHOTO
Fire Commissioner Larry Lechmanski told his colleagues Monday night that Southold’s bad fortune was Shelter Island’s good luck when it comes to upgrading its radios.

Southold’s misfortune is Shelter Island’s good fortune.

At least when it comes to decisions about upgrading from low-band to high-band radio frequency.

That’s the conclusion Commissioner Larry Lechmanski drew for his colleagues at Monday night’s fire commissioners meeting. Shelter Island is affected by decisions made on the North Fork because Southold provides dispatching services for the fire department here.

Southold allocated money to place equipment in Noyac that would provide what is called “talk around” service that may yet have to be removed, according to Ty Cochran, a Southold Fire Commissioner, who is involved with the effort to upgrade radio communications for the various fire departments.

Mr. Lechmanski said Southold may have spent up to $350,000 on the Noyac connection, but Mr. Cochran said the cost was nothing close to that number. Nonetheless, the town and fire departments do expect to spend about $300,000 over the next few years for a high band paging system that would feed North Fork communities and Shelter Island.

He expects Southold town might put up half that amount and then some arrangement would be worked out with the various North Fork fire districts to pay the balance. Just how that might be worked out since various fire districts have different assessments is something yet to be determined, he said.

But the new system has nothing to do with whether the equipment in Noyac has to be removed or can remain, Mr. Cochran said.

As for Shelter Island, it’s not affected by the cost of the new equipment to built on the North Fork, but pays a $5,000 annual fee for dispatching services to Southold. It’s possible that fee could be increased, although Mr. Lechmanski said he’s been told that’s not necessarily the case.

Mr. Lechmanski has been tracking changes in system for a few years since the Federal Communications Commission ordered fire districts to give up their low-band frequencies.

The reason for the transition, Commissioner Richard Surozenski said, is money. By getting back those low-band frequencies, the FCC can sell them to commercial operations.

During that time, there have been multiple shifts in technology and plans. Shelter Island has taken a wait-and-see approach before buying a lot of new high- band radios, waiting for decisions made on the North Fork that would dictate when the Island would have to make the transition.

“Waiting sometimes burns you,” Mr. Lechmanski said. “Waiting for us turns out to be the right thing to do.”

Commissioner Andy Steinmuller suggested that the district might want to explore opportunities for grants that could cover or defray the cost of new radios.

By not rushing its own transition to the high-band radios and triggering either a hike in taxes or bonding to buy them, Shelter Island commissioners have saved money and now, because of the time it will take Southold to build the new system, have more time to tuck money away when the high-band radios will eventually be needed, Mr. Lechmanski said.

The new system is projected to be in place by 2017, Mr. Lechmanski said, although Mr. Cochran said he doesn’t want to put a date on its completion yet since there are still so many details that have to be decided.

As for the status of the proposed second Island cell tower on Cobbetts Lane, while the commissioners have signed a contract with Elite Towers, the company needs to do tests to determine what height would be needed for optimum communications. The fire district also needs to obtain a special permit from the Town Board to construct a new tower.

BUDGET
The commissioners formally accepted a budget for 2016 that will reduce the tax rate by 3 percent from what property owners paid to support spending in the current year.

The plan for 2016 is to raise $827,094 from property taxes while the full budget calls for spending $861,592.

COMMISSIONERS ELECTION
Anyone interested in becoming a fire commissioner has until November 18 to file a letter of intent to get on the ballot for the December 8 election.

Andy Reeve’s term is up and he is expected to seek re-election. He was appointed to the commission in the spring of 2011 after Ron Jernick resigned. He was elected in 2012 to finish Mr. Jernick’s term and is planning to seek a full term of his own.

If the election is uncontested, paper ballots will be used. Otherwise, a voting machine will be in place. Voting takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8 at the Center Firehouse.