NELSONVILLE – Putnam County has agreed to transfer four properties located in Philipstown to the Open Space Institute that will result in the eventual construction of an emergency communications tower in Nelsonville at the Philipstown Highway Department garage.
Emergency communications have plagued the county for years with low band radios resulting in often garbled voices and excessive static, especially when the 911 Center in Carmel was communicating with police, fire and EMS personnel in the Putnam Lake, Putnam Valley, western Kent and greater Philipstown area.
New towers that have improved communication have been erected with additional facilities planned for Mahopac and Putnam Valley as well as Nelsonville.
The unanimous vote of the county legislature followed agreement by the Open Space Institute to allow for the construction of the 120 feet tower in exchange for Putnam and Philipstown donating 17 parcels of land to the Hudson Highlands Land Trust.
The lawmakers learned that three of the parcels owned by Putnam were considered public parkland. As a result, the county called for state legislation to complete the transfer in addition to agreeing to lease the tower section of the property for 35 years at a cost of $1 annually.
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