For Immediate Release: December 16, 2002
Contact:
Victoria Hristovski | Director Public Information | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 891-4050
RAY BROOK - On Friday, December 13th 2002, the Adirondack Park Agency voted unanimously to approve the Northway Emergency Call Box Replacement project submitted by the New York State Police, New York State Department of Transportation (DOT), and Crown Communications.
The project will replace the non-functional VHF based emergency call box system along the Adirondack Northway with a new cellular based system, and provide private cellular phone service to the Northway travel corridor between exits 26 and 35. The previous system suffered a serious malfunction at midnight of December 31, 1999 and has not been fully operable since. Successful restoration efforts were made by officials and some of the phones were operational again, but on April 23, 2002 the entire system shut down completely, rendering it inoperable. A wireless based infrastructure will service 64 call boxes with 33 support sites along the Northway and will provide continuous coverage for all boxes, even if one of the support sites malfunctions. The support sites consists of 33 antennae poles, each 38 feet in height, with a grouping of five equipment cabinets containing transmitting and receiving equipment. Each of the 33 poles will have two sets of flat panel antennas, each set capable of servicing two cellular carriers. The system will service the call boxes and provide private cellular phone service to the Northway travel corridor. Most of the 33 poles will be located at the edge of the tree lines and will be painted to blend with the surrounding vegetation.
"This is an award winning project," said APA Interim Chairman Jim Frenette. "The State Police, Department of Transportation and Crown Communications are to be commended for their efforts to restore the emergency system, improve cellular coverage, and for going the extra mile in designing a project that takes the unique characteristics of the Adirondacks into consideration."
The new system will be built without cost to the State of New York and will be paid for by Crown Communications. Officials are working to have the new system in place by the summer of 2003. In the meantime, State Police continue their increased patrols in the corridor.
Board Members and Designees also unanimously approved the Park Agency's application to expand its building. The expansion project includes construction of a 95-seat conference room, a new building entrance and lobby area, an elevator for handicap access to the whole building, and an attached two-bay maintenance garage. Exterior work includes replacement parking spaces, sidewalk, new sign, landscaping, and lighting.
On Thursday, December 12, 2002 Agency Members welcomed the new Supervisor of Adirondack Park Regional Planning, Richard Weber to staff. Mr. Weber comes to the Agency from the LA Group of Saratoga and has vast experience in Environmental Planning, Site Design, and Geographical Information Systems. Mr. Weber graduated Cum Laude from SUNY ESF (Environmental Science and Forestry) in Syracuse, and is currently working on obtaining his Masters from the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources. During his almost 10 years with the LA Group, Mr. Weber worked on proposal writing, quality control, permit applications, natural resource and land use planning projects, and site plans for small and regional scale projects.
As the Board welcomed Mr. Weber, they bid best wishes to Environmental Program Specialist Douglas Hamernik, who is moving back to Western New York to be closer to his family in January. Mr. Hamernik came to the Agency in December, 2000. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Biology from SUNY College in Fredonia , and a Master's degree in Environmental Quality Science from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. He came to the Agency with a background in both the environmental and medical lab fields and helped to get permits completed in a timely manner. His previous work experience has included technician work on air and solid waste in Alaska. He has also worked on water quality and sediment testing in Erie County, New York. Doug has also conducted medial lab testing in several hospitals, including the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.
State Land Committee Members were updated on Thursday by DEC and Agency staff on the Bog River Unit Management Plan. Environmental Program Specialist for the Agency Sunita Halasz presented information of the natural resources of the Bog River Unit as reported in the plan including a description of the area's beauty, diversity of landscape, and habitat types. State Lane Master Plan criteria the Agency will need to evaluate during their consideration of the Bog River UMP at the January Agency meeting was presented by State Land Planning Project Assistant Walt Linck. No action was taken.
Also approved this month were the Enforcement Regulations that the Agency circulated and had five public hearings for this summer. The proposed regulations can be found by visiting www.northnet.org/adirondackparkagency/ and double-clicking on the Regulatory Reform box at the top of the home page.
For more information, please call (518) 891-4050 ext. 173. The next regular monthly public meeting will be held on January 9th and 10th at the headquarters in Ray Brook.