Community Corner

New London Exploring Waterford Partnership

New London inclusion on Waterford dispatch system has been one suggestion for improving emergency communications in southern portion of city

The Public Safety Committee took a tentative step Monday toward exploring cooperation with Waterford to provide emergency communications in the southern portion of New London, an option that has been suggested by opponents of a at .

The committee voted unanimously to send a memorandum of understanding between the two communities to Law Director Jeffrey Londregan to ensure that it is non-binding. Under the proposal, New London would be able to use two channels on Waterford’s new

Lt. Brett Mahoney of the Waterford Police Department was present at the meeting and said the system should be able to cover 95 percent of southern New London’s needs at an estimated annual maintenance cost of $204,000, which the municipalities would split. Mahoney said the communities would have separate communications in the event of such a partnership, but that they could be merged in the event of major emergencies.

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“We essentially need your blessing to go forward with this in any way,” said Mahoney.

Such a move has been proposed as an alternative to the construction of a cylindrical tower in the parking lot of Ocean Beach Park. Message Center Management of Hartford has suggested that the tower would improve emergency communications and cell phone coverage in the area while providing an estimated $1.2 million in revenue to go toward the maintenance of the park.

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Several residents in the nearby area have routinely showed up at city meetings to express their concerns. These include arguments that the tower will lower property values and that the emergency communications would be knocked out if the tower could not withstand a hurricane.

“Sharing your resources is much cheaper, and I know the feds love that,” said Steve Alligood of Waterford, a member of Save Ocean Beach and opponent of the project.

Public Works Director Tim Hanser said one alternative under consideration is relocating the tower to the east of the GAM building, which would allow the tower’s height to be reduced by 10 feet and the necessary equipment to be located on the building’s roof. Councilor Anthony Nolan suggested that another option would be the establishment of emergency call boxes.

Nancy Baude, another member of Save Ocean Beach and a supporter of the project, said she hopes the city will make a decision before summer. She said improved cell phone coverage is important to facilitate emergency calls.

“It’s a public safety thing. It’s not a frivolous thing,” she said.

Richard Waselik, a New London dispatcher, said he did not think there was a catch-all solution to poor communications in the area of the beach. Waselik said he did not think the Waterford system would be as effective as has been claimed, and noted that he has been unable to get cell coverage from directly beneath a tower in Mystic. However, he criticized the city’s pace on the issue of emergency communications for southern New London.

“This is not a joke,” said Waselik. “This is not a matter of where we can save money. This is people’s lives.”

Also on Monday, the council voted to have the Education, Parks and Recreation Committee further discuss a proposal to install a cell tower at . According to a letter from Robert Nenna, co-chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, members heard a presentation from AT&T during their December meeting and recommended to the council that income generated by the tower be earmarked for a ranger, maintenance, and equipment for city parks.


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