Communications Tower Gets Initial OK From Bernardsville Council

A 150-foot-high tower off Pill Hill Road proposed to improve communications transmissions for at least part of Bernardsville's hilly terrain on Monday received approval from the Borough Council, but still needs to go before the Planning Board before it can be built.

Somerset County will completely pick up the cost of the new tower, which would be constructed atop a high point about 700 feet west of an existing tower near a gravel driveway entrance into the Pill Hill property, county officials said.

The new tower will "enhance" communications coverage in the borough, where police and firefighters have complained of dead spots for the county's communications frequency, said William Stahl, Somerset County Director of Public Health and Safety. 

Mayor Lee Honecker said the borough fire company has expressed support for the new tower, which would allow the firefighters to communicate more directly with the county, rather than receiving communications through borough police.

But Stahl said that the new tower, if it is built, would not solve all of the issues of county 911 communications with borough emergency responders, particularly in the Hardscrabble Road area.

Stahl said the persistent problem of having blocked frequencies on Benardsville Mountain must be solved by a "multi-tier" solution requiring the construction of more than one tower.

Bill Cooper, county counsel, said he would like to see the first new tower built as soon as possible, but the county must first receive approval from the borough Planning Board. 

Honecker said following the meeting that the anticipated cost of the project would be about $700,000. He said the county would rent the land on which the new tower would be built for $1 per year.

He said that the proposed tower site further down a gravel driveway leading from Pill Hill Road would back up to areas of Bernards Township, which county officials would also receive improved communications transmissions.

Tower location backs up to part of Bernards Township

Honecker said he believes houses on Wisteria Way in Bernards Township would be the closest homes to the location of the proposed new tower.

Borough Councilman Joe Rossi asked if the tower could be moved, and possibly be built even over a part of the former landfill, to leave more room for the borough's needs on the property, which he said might include parking equipment.

Rossi also asked if other carriers could use the tower and generate revenue for the borough.

Smith said the county did not want to draw the state Department of Environmental Protection Agency into the construction process by building on formerly landfilled property.

Honecker said that the 9-1-1 communications are the primary reason for building the tower.