An Emergency Communications Tower has been proposed to be built on the high ground above the Wawarsing Town Highway Garage. The tower will be 155 feet high and will have a flashing red light at the top.

The reason for the tower was laid out in a schematic provided by the Ulster County Planning Department. The tower is for the use of emergency services. It is not a cell tower. The radio systems used by firefighters, police and ambulance services are analog, resulting in occasional countywide communications problems because of the terrain.

Altogether, four new towers are planned, spanning Wawarsing, New Paltz, Rosendale, and Shokan, which will link up with the existing set of emergency communications transmitters.

The Wawarsing site selected is a broad ledge on the side of the high ground that rises to the west of the highway garage. The town has already used part of that ledge to place the water tank for the Wawarsing Water District.

This is a county decision, not a town one. The planning department said in their release that the county “may enjoy limited immunity from the Local Zoning Statute based on a balancing of public interests.”

The limitations on that regulation are that “telecommunication towers or antennas shall also be demonstrated to be the minimum height and aesthetic intrusion possible to provide adequate coverage.”

To that end, the tower was initially proposed to be 190 feet tall. However, due to the proximity of Resnick Airport, that height has been reduced to 150 feet. Because of the airport, FAA regulations mean that it will also require a flashing red light at the top.

T.J. Briggs, village trustee and president of the Ellenville First Aid & Rescue squad, welcomed the tower, and the upgrade to emergency communications.

“That can be a big help in communications,” he said. “There are still places where signal isn’t good and in an emergency that can be dangerous. This will help save lives.”

What happens next? The design of the tower will be done between January and July 2025. At the same time necessary permitting will be sought from the town and the FAA. Construction will likely begin in August of next year and be completed by February 2026.