After attending the March 14, 2016 Lebanon Board of Selectmen's meeting, several things were sticking in my gut that I just could not resolve within myself.
I'm tired, really tired, of sitting for hours in the Selectmen's Boardroom and having papers passed in front of me, asking questions, and not getting any answers.
If the Town Government doesn't know the answers, why don't they??
I kept thinking about those communication towers mentioned by Selectmen's Assistant, Sue Collins.
The Board of three Selectmen sat, much as I've seen many other committees do in Lebanon, asking one another questions that none of them had the answer to.
So today, Tuesday, March 15th, I reached out to our State Representative, Karen Gerrish, asking questions about these proposed communications towers that the Board of Selectmen seemed to put onto the back burner, even after hearing that they were requested to be placed on Town of Lebanon property in order to "aid State Police Communications".
That last part got me.
"To aid State Police Communications".
What exactly does that mean, and why do they need communication towers in Lebanon?
I had a nice chat with Representative Gerrish, and she gave me quite a good history on the need for these communication towers. Do we have the time to play around and discuss whether they would look prettier on the Town Office property, or the Transfer Station property?? In my opinion NO. Do we have time for Selectman Nadeau to ask for details on how tall they would be, or what color they would be?? In my opinion, NO.
The truth of the matter, according to our State Representative, is that our town, our county, and indeed, the entire State of Maine, is having a problem with a new digital radio system, used by the State Police, called the Harris Radio, which within the State of Maine is called, MSCommNet. This digital trunking system is the new state radio network that has replaced most legacy systems, including those of the Maine State Police, Warden Service, State Forestry, Marine Patrol, Maine EMA, Department of Corrections, and some smaller state agencies.
Representative Gerrish took a moment to describe the differences between the Legacy system and the newer, less effective Harris Radio system, "This is an issue I have been working on since December. We are having a serious problem with the new digitized state police radio system. I have spoken to multiple troopers from around the state and it seems there are two separate issues; one the many dead spots (including spots in Lebanon) as well as the difficulty in speaking with other municipal and sheriff departments. The prior analog system allowed the trooper to continue to drive and then simply press a series of numbers on a pad to contact another agency such as the Sheriff's Dept, or say Sanford Police Dept. With the new system, the trooper has to find the agency somewhat like a radio station on a dial and when they do locate the agency they need to communicate with, they then lose their home base, in York County's case, Gray. The troopers tell me that they use their cell phones to communicate with other agencies."
The MSCommNet has been in use for about 5 years now in Maine, starting its use in the northernmost counties and working its way down to become fully operational in York County in early 2015. Researching many scanner-land open forums, scanner users love the new trunking system as they claim that the old legacy system was outdated, filled with static and difficult to tune. However, according to Gerrish, the State Police have had problems all across the state with "dead spots", several of which are right here in Lebanon.
While Gerrish believes that the proponents of this system are trying to focus on town by town problems, however, she has been taking reports and interviews of the problems with this system state wide, and following law suits in other areas of the country where Harris Radio digital trunking systems have been put into use.
The request for the additional towers in Lebanon comes as what seems like a band aid fix, or possibly an attempt to give a boost to State Police communications that could turn difficult or deadly if a trooper were caught within a radio dead spot. Since Troopers are out here protecting residents, a radio dead spot could mean the difference between life and death for a Trooper or a Lebanon resident.
Listening to our State Representative relating her hard work on this project, including a night of "ride along" with Maine State Troopers during which two very dicey calls were answered right here in Lebanon, actually had me a bit nervous about the need for speed in erecting the digital towers to aid in State Police communications. LMTS doesn't feel we actually have time to sit around on our thumbs while Selectmen try and decide where the towers should be placed. Lebanon utilizes the State Police as our primary law enforcement agency. Being on the border of New Hampshire, puts Lebanon in a precarious situation with no law enforcement and on a direct route for drug trafficking. The ability of our State Police Troopers to communicate with one another and with dispatch is critical.
"The dead spots are a very serious issue and there are several here in Lebanon. When I went on my ride a long with the troopers last month there were several spots, particularly on the south side of town where multiple radio checks with Gray were made to no avail. The most serious that occurred that evening when the trooper was making an arrest inside a local store and had to have the cashier call 911 as yet again, his radio could not call out. It's unacceptable to have not only our troopers in harm's way like this while they are doing their job protecting us, but this is a serious public safety issue. It is not a matter of if, but when we will encounter a serious tragedy. The problem is not unique to Lebanon. You may recall back in January there was a violent home invasion in the town of Lyman. All three responding troopers sat in the driveway, unable to call out. " said Gerrish
Representative Gerrish promises to keep us all informed on her continuing work in Legislature, with the State Police and with the Governor regarding the MSCommNet system and the need for some hard looks on the $53 million radio system that is leaving State Troopers without the ability to communicate with one another, with dispatch, or with other agencies throughout the state or on the border.
At the end of our conversation, Rep. Gerrish talked about how glad she was to hear that State Agencies have given some thought to the communications problem, especially here in her hometown, but also reminding residents that this is not only a Lebanon problem, but one that exists in many of the smaller towns and communities in the State of Maine. "I am happy to hear the state has reached out to the Selectmen regarding the communications issues specific to Lebanon," Gerris stated, "In the meantime, I look forward to my ongoing talks with OIT (Office of Informational Technology), the Dept. of Public Safety as well as the administration dealing with this statewide issue. I have a meeting today on the matter and another one next week with the Governor."
Call your Selectmen and ask them to approve the MSCommNet temporary towers at either the Town Office or the Lebanon Transfer Station, as soon as possible. Enable our State Police and protect Lebanon residents!!
