Hawaii County is moving forward with plans to upgrade its radio system by installing a 130-foot radio tower in Ka‘u.
Hawaii County is moving forward with plans to upgrade its radio system by installing a 130-foot radio tower in Ka‘u.
Certain areas of the Big Island, including Ka‘u, currently have poor to no radio communications leaving fire, police, emergency medical services and Civil Defense personnel sometimes cutoff from communication with headquarters and other personnel, according to a draft Environmental Assessment issued Jan. 8. The radio communication system becomes more important during disaster events.
The county expects a finding of no significant impact for the $1.2 million project it says will provide coverage in the area and improve overall radio coverage in the district. The project entails constructing a 130-foot-tall radio tower equipped with one microwave dish and a pair of two-way antennas and related structures to include a communications shelter, emergency generator, fuel tank and fencing on county land also occupied by the Ocean View Fire Station.
If the project is approved, design work is expected to be complete in early 2016; construction, which would begin after a county use permit is secured, will take about six to eight months.
The location and lower power output of the radio antenna ensure that no electromagnetic energy impacts will occur, the county said.
Comments are due by Feb. 8 to Geometrician Associates LLC, PO Box 396, Hilo, HI 96720; and County of Hawaii Department of Public Works, 101 Pauahi St., Suite 7, Hilo, HI 96720.
View the document online at https://oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/default.aspx and then click on the following folders: “EA_and_EIS_Online_Library,” “Hawaii” and “2010s.”