WILTON — Stan Wheeler, director of the county’s communication center, gave Board of Selectmen members an update on communication issues.

Wheeler told the board the county has undertaken a major study of the communications structure of Franklin County after four vendors submitted widely varying proposals on how to address communication problems.

“There are major challenges due to the terrain differences in Franklin County,” Wheeler said. Communication had never been looked at in a systemic manner.

The study’s goal is to create solid infrastructure throughout the county so that dispatchers can be heard anywhere in the region.

“It’s not going to be cheap,” Wheeler said.

Changes under consideration will be split into those that can be done immediately; those which can be completed in one to five years; and those that will take five years or longer.

The county has a tower on Mosher Hill in Farmington and access to one at Sugarloaf. There is a tower on Jay Hill but preliminary estimates put the cost of work needed on it at $55,000. 

Eventually, a highly reliable system will be put together for the whole county. One thing this will do is to improve law enforcement communications in Wilton.

“There are black hole places where officers can’t be heard. The Jay tower would help that a lot,” Wheeler said.

Through the efforts of Tim Hardy, the county’s emergency management agency director, access to the state-owned tower on Mt. Blue has been granted. Since January, space has been leased and county equipment has been added.

Wilton police chief Heidi Wilcox is in the process of having her department’s radios reprogrammed to use the Mt. Blue tower.

“Mobile radios from Wilton should work fine from there,” Hardy said.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Scott Taylor asked what the new tower at the dispatch center does. Wheeler said it houses 14 different antennas, but he is concerned the tower is not structurally sound enough to support them.

As more of the antennas are being used, some become desensitized because the antennas are too close together and there are too many. Wheeler hopes to correct this.

“At least three will come down,” he said.

Board member Tiffany Maiuri asked if private homes would be part of the new system. She was told they would be and it wouldn’t be a big-cost item to do so.

“It will make it easier to distinguish one from another,” Wheeler said. 

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