Roachdale board hears proposal for amplifying cellphone signal

Sunday, April 16, 2017

ROACHDALE -- With technology becoming more and more vital throughout the rural areas of west-central Indiana, one Putnam County community may be on the cusp of satisfying the woes of many a Roachdale citizen, of whom the vast majority experience a complete lack of cellphone signal.

Due to an absence of cellphone-specific towers in the north eastern area of the county (with signal-loss including parts of Montgomery and Hendricks counties as well), many of those living in or passing through Roachdale simply cannot use their cellphones for data or calls.

But now, thanks to tech-savvy entrepreneurs like Brian Ramirez, who partners with Select Towers and was present during the town’s recent public session, a final piece of the signal-carrier puzzle may fit right into place for central Indiana, alleviating not only Roachdale citizens’ distress but for those present for miles around.

“What we do is, we build infrastructure for the wireless industry -- Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint,” Williams said to kick off the proposal. “I’ve lived in Putnam County since 2003 out at Heritage Lake. I actually built the tower on the south side of (Heritage Lake) where the fire department is (and) I’ve been interested in (Roachdale) for a long time to put a site out here.”

Ramirez went on to say he frequents Roachdale often for family matters and has himself experienced the frustration that can come with a dropped call. He also said he has recently installed towers at several locales in similar situations, including the Iron Man Raceway in Crawfordsville and the Metropolis Mall in Plainfield, personally overseeing each as Select Towers owns and operates both.

Roachdale, he added, would be another area well-suited for a signal-amplification tower.

“We have direct connections with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile and we’ve put all three of those on our towers in the last six months,” Ramirez said, noting that he has recently pitched Roachdale at the regional headquarters for AT&T in Louisville. “I have some information about the properties the town owns -- one over at the water-treatment facility and another north of town -- both of those locations would work.

“Rural communities have always been neglected; all of the big cities get all of the real service,” Ramirez added, “but now I’ve seen a switch in the industry where (carriers) are wanting to provide service ... to the more rural communities now. There is a lot of opportunity here and I think they’re about ready to come into this area a little more aggressively than they have before.”

The tower (or towers if both locations are used) would be large enough to house equipment not only for cellphone carriers, but also for the area’s emergency services, such as police, fire and rescue, as well as additional space or other potential uses.

If talks continue, which seem likely as the board reacted positively to the proposal, the potential tower(s) would be 250 to 300-feet tall in a “three-legged, lattice-type structure” on a five to six-acre property and would be self-supported as the height and width comes in just under the need for guy wires.

“Is there a cost to the town?” Councilwoman Holly Cook asked.

“There would be zero cost to the town,” Ramirez replied. “As a matter of fact, we would have a lease with the town. It would be a long-term lease -- we usually sign a 50-year lease -- and it would be at a monthly rate.”

Nothing further was discussed as Ramirez finished his presentation, expressing hopes to speak further about the matter with the board which seemed greatly in favor of the idea. Updates are expected at the town’s next public session in May.

In other business:

• A motion by Board President Zach Bowers to have Town Attorney Dave Peebles file an ordinance violation in the court system against the Simpson residence at 110 W. Railroad St. was approved.

Separately, a letter written by Peebles will be hand-delivered by Town Marshal Mike Mahoy to the Steve Keck residence, located at 405 E. Washington St., as the latest entry in a cleanup struggle that has faced the town for more than four years.

The letter is symbolic in that it marks Keck’s failure to comply with a then-unforeseen six-month extension granted via 2-1 vote in October 2016 of which Bowers voted against after vehemently rebuking a one-year extension proposed at the time by Councilwoman Cook.

Bowers, who has long been adamant about ending negotiations with the Kecks and moving on to further measures, accepted a bid for demolition in September 2016, seemingly capping off talks spanning several years. However, the extension was granted the next month after a letter explaining the bid’s acceptance was delivered to the Kecks, prompting the family’s last town hall appearance.

As with the Simpson letter, the Keck letter will be delivered personally by Marshal Mahoy. Updates are expected to follow at the town’s May public session.

• A Wastewater System Rehabilitation Project update was given by Board President Bowers, saying Troy Elless, who serves as the town’s utility superintendent, is currently working his way through a final “punch list” that “should be wrapped up by the end of (April).”

• A Stormwater Project update was also given by Bowers, saying workers are now operating in areas on the west end of town after making their way from the town’s east side. He added that workers have not experienced as many issues as they did on the east side but have had to remove some dead trees. Bowers went on to say that workers are on schedule for construction to be completed by the end of the month, as well.

• In a related but separate matter that admittedly has lower priority than the Stormwater Project, roads affected by the project will be repaired within a year of the project’s completion. However, Bowers noted that road repairs will take place “a lot sooner than that.”

• Councilwoman Cook’s motion to “send a letter to homeowners who had smoke-test issues on their private property to have those fixed and resolved by June 1, 2017, and to notify the town clerk that repairs have been made” was approved.

• A building permit for 306 E. Columbia St. was approved. The permit will be used to build a fence on the property.

• All three required readings for Ordinance 3-2017 were approved. This ordinance concerns a handicapped-parking space that will be created at 205 N. Indiana St. in front of Town Hall.

• The next regularly-scheduled public session for the town of Roachdale will take place on Tuesday, May 9 at 7 p.m. within Town Hall.

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