Seems even the U.S. Coast Guard has to fight city hall. Never had
that problem on Marcus, Kure, Wake, Iwo Jima, Yap, Palau, Kwaj,
Johnston, etc.
Coast Guard weighs options after
communication tower plan is killed
By LARRY HANNAN, ljhannan@naplesnews.com
March 1, 2004
The future plans of the U.S. Coast Guard are unclear
when it comes to improving
communication capability in Southwest Florida.
The Collier County Commission earlier this year
rejected a variance request that
would have allowed a 700-foot tower to be built on 14
acres of land at 305 Tower
Road. County zoning rules prohibit a tower that high.
Tower Road is one mile south of U.S. 41 and
one-quarter mile west of Collier
Boulevard. There is already a 524-foot communication
tower at that location that
the Coast Guard uses, and other commercial businesses
also use it.
Coast Guard officials said an extra 200 feet would
have allowed them to
communicate six miles farther in each direction with
their advanced search and
rescue communication system, including out to sea.
They will now look for other
ways to improve communication ability.
"We will meet our requirement of coverage out to 20
miles with the current tower
at its current height," said Chief Petty Officer Hall
Rowe. "However, at the
requested height of 700 feet the Naples tower would
have provided coverage in
the project's next area along the Everglades."
Coast Guard contractors will investigate other
avenues for meeting the Coast
Guard's more southern coverage requirements.
"We have no information on potential avenues yet,"
Rowe said.
Coast Guard officials have previously said if the
tower was not raised they would
probably need to look at installing multiple towers
throughout the area to get the
coverage that could be provided by the one 700-foot
tower.
The county's refusal to grant the variance was
somewhat anticlimactic because
the Federal Aviation Administration had previously
ruled that the tower couldn't be
built beyond 527 feet. FAA officials said a higher
tower would be a safety hazard
to Marco Island Executive Airport and they worried
the tower was in the flight
path between Naples Municipal Airport and Marco
Airport.
"When the FAA said they didn't want the tower in that
area that was enough for
me," said Commission Chairwoman Donna Fiala.
Fiala said she also worried that a 700-foot tower
would be an eyesore to local
homeowners in communities like Eagle Creek.
Officials with the Florida Department of
Transportation also opposed a 700-foot
tower.
Commissioners were originally asked to approve the
variance in December before
the FAA had made its decision. They decided to delay
a decision until after the
FAA opined on the matter and then rejected the
variance in January after the FAA
came back with its decision.
Collier County officials said they don't know what
the Coast Guard will do yet,
but will work with them to improve communication
capability in the Everglades.
"I haven't been in contact with the Coast Guard since
the variance was denied,"
said Commissioner Jim Coletta. "If it's as important
to them as they say it is then I
hope they get back to me. We might be able to come up
with some solutions."
Coletta's district includes the Everglades area.
--
__________________________________________________________________________
Alan Zack
Amateur Radio Station K7ACZ
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Quality Engineer, The Boeing Company, Retired
Aviation Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Coast Guard, Retired
U.S. Coast Guard, Always Ready, Always There
Every hour, Every day, Around the Clock and Around the World
SEMPER PARATUS
_______________________________________________
See: http://www.mscomputer.com for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless Weather
Stations", and lot's more. Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any questions
and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
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