In an effort to improve communication among College departments, Safety and Security is currently taking the final steps to upgrade its 30-year-old radio system, according to Bonnie Hafer, Facilities Operations and Management director of systems and administrative services. Zoning laws and budgeting issues have complicated the installation of a new system for the last seven years, she said.
The new radio system will serve to join several College facilities under one common radio network, said Harry Kinne, College proctor and director of Safety and Security.
The Hood Museum of Art, the Dartmouth Skiway and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center will be able to communicate freely with each other, Kinne said.
"Part of the reason why the old system was not good enough is that we [Safety and Security] had our own distinct one, that had very limited ways of communicating with the rest of the College," Kinne said. "It has been serving us well. However, its range isn't as we would like it to be."
All of the equipment necessary for the installation of the new system is now being stored in Connecticut, Kinne said.
"Now we are making sure that we have all the necessary permits." Hafer said. "As soon as we have all the paperwork we will start the installation."
The new radio facilities will also be introduced in other towns, including Lebanon, N.H., and Norwich, Vt.
"We need to face zoning requirements from multiple towns, which makes it all more time-consuming." he said.
The city of Lebanon in particular has a history of radio zoning disputes. In 2002, the owner of Koor Communication was forbidden from building radio towers because of restrictions on tower height.
"The city [of Lebanon] effectively prohibits any new A.M. stations from being built, which is in conflict with federal law," Fred Hopengarten, a telecommunications lawyer retained by Koor, told Radio World Newspaper. "The heart of the case is whether federal law is the law of the land."
The height regulations are also included under the Hanover Zoning Ordinance. Its current edition specifies that, "Towers over 70 feet in height shall be located within 200 feet of or more than two miles from any existing tower that is over 70 feet in height."
While the Hanover Zoning Board refused to comment on the radio case, Hafer said FO&M is still discussing the issue with the Board.
"Currently we're still talking with the town [of Hanover] on certain things, but we already have numerous radio facilities." Hafer said. "In actuality, in our case it's just a replacement system, since some radio facilities are already present on campus, what makes the requirements easier to fulfill."
According to Kinne, it should take several months for the system to be workable.
"Once we have all the paperwork all set and done, it should take about three weeks to install it," Hafer said. "However, we're going to run the new system parallel to the old one and test it for a month to make sure we spotted all the bugs. Only then we will start dismantling the old system and fully relying on the new one."
