If all the county wants is better communications out here there are two towers available on Van Vlecks that are open to lease space, which would require a lot less investment than building new tower.  There's also 135 foot tower on Jay Schneider's property south of here over on Miese Road that’s open for leasing.

 

If we give them a free lease for the property, and they own the tower they can then lease space on their tower and turn it into a source of income for the county.  Meanwhile we continue to pay taxes. They know how this works; they are paying leases on other towers around the county. Last time I looked, nobody was giving away real estate.

Dick Cox

 Once again Ranch Murieta has had it stuck to us by the County of Sacramento in the person of Metropolitan Fire District Chief Don Mette.  His letter concerning the positioning of a communications tower on RMA property is a CHEAP SHOT at RMA and the RMA Board.  I wonder why Chief Mette saw fit to release this letter to the media, (RVT and RM.com) prior to sending it to the RMA Board. The agency he speaks of came to us stating to be “Non-Profit” asking for permission to build this tower.  The only thing that makes them “Non-Profit” is that they are a governmental agency supported by the public safety agencies in Sacramento County.  Chief Mette didn’t bother to state this agency charges the public safety agencies using their service $275.00 per radio, plus a joining fee to use the service.  If they run short of money who do you think pays the bill?  That would be us the tax payers of Sacramento County.

 

I estimate the residents of RM pay over $5,000,000.00 per years in property taxes while receiving next to nothing in the was of services from the county. If the county stationed one Sheriffs Deputy here around the clock, it wouldn’t put a dent in the amount of taxes we pay annually to them.  Chief Mette says we are asking for outrageous and inappropriate fees.  What is outrageous and inappropriate is the lack of services provided to RM by the county.  The county and their agencies are in fiscal austerity time because of their inability to manage their business in a fiscally responsible manner.  The county supervisors have acted like the good times would never end and they have spent money they didn’t have.  RMA leases tower space to other agencies and they all pay more than $1000.00 per month for this privilege so why should the county be any different.  Leasing tower space to the county may be the only way RM ever gets any return on our tax dollars.

 

The decision by the RMA Board was a sound financial decision meant to bring revenue into our association while providing support to a public agency that currently has a surplus in their treasury to accomplish their mission.

 

I don’t intend to hide behind “Executive Secession” on this issue.  I will not be changing my vote and I don’t believe most of the other directors will change theirs.  The statement made by Jack Cooper represented his opinion not that of the RMA Board as he never talked to us as a board.

 

As I write the County a check for the second installment of my Real estate tax. as all of the property owners in Rancho Murieta are doing about this time, I see the special $100 assessment for Sloughhouse Fire Protection.

If I recall correctly we voted for this some years ago so as to have EMT available at our station when it was part of the American River Fire District.

As our station is now part of Sac County Fire why are we still paying this special assessment for a basic service that other areas have covered with their RE Taxes.  This $250,000 "extra" we give the county should help them pay to lease space on the tower. 

I urge the BOD to agree with Dick Cox and hold their position.

The Fire Chief is out of line, 

Well, I was able to contact the guys over at our local fire station and here is what I have learned from them.

 

First the financial stuff. The county has already agreed (in writing), not to lease any tower space for profit. This will be a public safety tower. In fact, the #1 function of the SRRCS is public safety communications and the users are determined by the rules of the FCC (must be a government user, or one that works mutually with a primary SRRCS user, etc.).

 

The cost to install the site (independent of any RMA monies)will be over 1 million dollars.

 

SRRCS (Sacramento Regional Radio Communications System) does have many of their own sites that are built to the public safety standard for wind, earthquake, etc. They do lease sites and pay $1.00 per year with the exception of one.

 

The cost of the operations, maintenance, and enhancement are paid on a per radio basis. Approximately 14,000 radios are purchased and installed by agencies at their own cost.

 

Now to the reality of how this affects all of us on a personal safety level.

 

The coverage in the RM is lacking and portable radios are not reliable in many areas, both inside structures, and outside (particularly the lower portions of RM South and the river bottom). Radio coverage is affected by additional buildings, foliage on the trees and interference from cellular systems. If you talk to the fire guys, and I suspect also the CSD patrol guys that have also been on these calls, you'll find many examples of radios causing a challenge to the success of a public safety operation, whether it's medical, fire, rescue, or a police event. Think about that for a minute. What if they can't communicate and it's your house, your relative, etc. If you lose your house, or a loved one dies because of these problems, are you going to agree with the current position of the RMA then?

 

I know that the REACH Medical helicopter has saved lives out here, and the SSD's STAR helicopter has also been on calls out here. There are times when they can't communicate well with folks on the ground. The same would be true for Aerojet Fire, etc. This local tower would significantly improve coverage and we would personally benefit in terms of increased public safety. This is something that the local emergency personnel have been trying to get for years.

 

The SRRCS is built for high capacity disaster communications. Only part of the system capacity is used on a daily basis, but the capacity is there for emergencies, like a flood, major fire, or any catastrophe. With this tower, if we ever have a true neighborhood emergency, then the emergency responders can actually communicate with each other without overloading the system. How much is that worth to this community?

 

Where was it said, the life you save, may be your own?

Thank you Lisa, for making this matter a little clearer.

Which brings to mind and this has absolutely nothing to do with the tower in question...If someone is out hiking the back area and gets bit by a rattler and there is no cell phone coverage back there. They're a goner!

Beth,

if you read Lisa'a posting, it clearly states the following, "The county has already agreed (in writing), not to lease any tower space for profit", with this statement, i do not think any space would be rented to Cellular companies.

Beginning early next year the low band television frequencies now used for analog television broadcast will be used by new technologies.  Any organization that has an overlooking hilltop site with power and existing FCC approval is in a very enviable position.  To give away that asset would be imprudent.  The potential lease revenue could help offset the revenue lost when “Freedom of Choice” takes effect.  These new technologies could also provide wireless Internet more reliably than DSL does today.  There are other hilltops for the county to use. 

 

 

Sorry, I guess what I posted came out different than what I meant to say. I was comparing apples to oranges and making the observation that without this tower, emergency crews may not be able to get the signal they need in an emergency....much like anyone in a dead zone (hence my attempt to compare that to being stuck somewhere without cell service). I did not mean to imply that I thought they would rent space to anyone.

Richard Robinson  Our taxes pay for the Fire Service. If we give the fire service free space, we are paying more then our fair share of the cost. The rest of the County needs to pay as well.