National EMS system raises local communication tower

Jan. 18, 2022 | Doc Pruyne
dpruyne@thereminder.com

SHUTESBURY – The first cell tower in the town’s history will soon appear over the treetops along Wendell Road, part of a national network for emergency management communications. As a bonus, the tower will also add to the town’s commercial tax base.

“It will appear in the FY23 (fiscal year 2023) tax year,” said Kevin Rudden, administrative assessor. That tax period begins June 30, 2022. “Right now, our commercial (property) is only 5 percent of the tax base, so even if it bumps it up half a point, that’s half a point the residential doesn’t have to carry.”

The cell tower will be part of the FirstNet wireless broadband network for national, regional and local EMS and public safety departments. According to a website for the network, AT&T won a $6.5 billion contract in 2017 to build the network and expand it into all 50 states, including rural townships and tribal lands. Over 17,000 federal, state and local entities use the network, which has brought an unintended benefit to Shutesbury and other rural towns: cell phone coverage.

Rudden commented that cell phone reception should be available on the hilly terrain descending from Town Hall, currently an area with very limited service. Assessors Clerk Leslie Bracebridge also mentioned that people living on Lake Wyola will also see better cell calling. FirstNet is integrated with AT&T’s commercial infrastructure, thus the company’s broader network and variety of communications capabilities will be available to residents and first responders alike.

The town will be able to use the tower without charge.

“The town also gets to put its transmitting equipment at the top,” Rudden said, which will include communications equipment for Shutesbury’s Fire and Police departments.

“No cost?” asked Howard Shpetner, an assessor.

Rudden told the assessors that first responders may purchase special cellphones to use the system. When used by EMS and public safety personnel, the phones override traffic from other users, clearing communications for faster response times in an emergency.

“During the marathon bombing, that network overrode everyone else,” Rudden explained. “Anyone in this special system, their calls override everyone else, so that public safety comes first.”
The FirstNet network’s website features plans for usage by local safety agencies, with monthly charges ranging from about $22 for a single line, to several thousand dollars per month, depending on the included bandwidth.

The cell tower project includes an access road ten feet wide, graveled, with electrical cabling encased in a conduit buried along the shoulder. The road leads to a plot 75 feet square, surrounded by fencing, with several concrete support pads already poured. The tower, according to Rudden, will rise about 150 feet high, roughly half again the height of a tall oak tree.

The property previously owned by a local attorney, Joel Greenbaum, includes 1,510 feet of frontage on Wendell Road, covers 20.8 acres, and was sold last February for $150,000. The square footprint of the tower will be the only land on the tax roles. The balance of the property, roughly twenty acres, will remain under Chapter 61B status. That status reduces taxation for the land and limits the options for commercial development.

The Board of Assessors voted to hire a consultant, Paul Tucker, for $1,000, to be paid out of the assessors’ budget, precluding the need to solicit funds from the Select Board, or its approval. According to Rudden, Tucker, based in Wareham, is willing to examine emailed documents and data to establish a valuation of the tower and the equipment mounted on it.

“How much did he value the tower at?” asked Jeffrey Quackenbush, chair of the Board of Assessors.
Rudden seemed to recall a valuation of $40,000. “The tower and plant,” he said, “is listed at $250,000 and the equipment is listed at $80,000. But that doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t make sense?” Quackenbush asked.

“The equipment should be higher,” Rudden replied. “Typically, a carrier’s equipment would be in the $200,000 range.”

Quackenbush asked if AT&T submitted a low estimate of the worth of the equipment. Rudden didn’t think so. The company gave a complete and detailed list of the equipment to be mounted on the tower. According to Rudden, that made it unnecessary for the consultant, Tucker, to visit the site to establish an assessment, leading to a savings on the service charge.

Wooden poles were planted for electrical cabling and the trench for conduit is partially completed. Rudden guessed the project will be finished some time in the spring.

He said, “I would expect they’d want to get this up sooner rather than later.”

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