New antenna to be purchased for jail site

John Hansen, Construction project manager of the Henry County Jail, is considering options for purchasing a new antenna for the new site.

The antenna Hansen has his eye on is 150-feet tall, self-supported tower, foundation and the estimated cost would cover site grounding, erection cabling and installation for a total of $130,000, he said during a Board of Supervisors meeting on Thursday, Nov. 29.

The new antenna would be able to microwave transmissions to the Mt. Pleasant Fire Department and the hospital, Hansen said. This would take that signal away from the phone lines and reduce costs. Microwaving back and forth is not possible on the current tower.

The project is licensed for an antenna of up to 168 feet tall through the Federal Communications Commission.

Hansen said the jail project has taken the approach of a 'complete project,” including a new antenna. Trying to come up with the money in the future would be more difficult than getting a new tower up now, Hansen said.

The current tower has 'some age on it,” Hansen said.

The cost of the antenna is $100,000 over budget, Hansen said.

Henry County supervisors said they would have to figure out if the funding for the tower would come out of the county's budget or the E-911 budget by January.

Hansen also secured a communication building for an antenna for $42,000, $74,000 less than the initial estimate. The building is refurbished and includes a special paver that goes on the roof to protect from ice falling off the antenna, Hansen said.

Overall, Hansen said work has slowed some with Sunday's heavy snow.

'Winter came sooner than anticipated,” Hansen said. 'Trying to get the trucks in and out of the work site is a challenge with all the ice. If it were easy, everybody'd be doing it,” he added with a laugh.

Hansen said the building will have to be heated some for the precast to be completed.