Public Meeting Weds. on Radio Tower Leg. Chairman Ross to Chair Meet on Controversial Plan

Bill Ross to hold meeting

LEWISTON—Lewiston residents have expressed concerns over a fire and police radio tower resulting from a federal radio narrowbanding mandate, and Niagara County Legislature Chairman William L. Ross, C-Wheatfield, announced he will hold a meeting Wednesday to get answers to the public's questions.

The meeting, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Upper Mountain Fire Company, 839 Moyer Road, Lewiston, will bring county officials involved in the sighting decisions for the radio tower network, including County Manager Jeffrey M. Glatz, to meet with local residents, firefighters, and the general public.

"Residents that live near the tower site have expressed concerns and raised questions, and we want to ensure their voices are heard," Ross said after conferring with Upper Mountain Fire Company leaders to schedule the meeting. "We want to reach solutions that everyone can be confident are the best solutions… to protect our first responders, whether they be police and sheriff's deputies, our volunteer firefighters, or EMTs."

Concerns raised by residents who lived near the planned tower, prompted the meeting.

"There are a number of critical factors here, including the rights of property owners near the tower, the need to have good two-way communications for our first-responders that clears the Niagara Escarpment, and this costly mandate from Washington, D.C., that set all this in motion," Ross said.