By Adam Swift
City and public safety officials made the case for the necessity of a 145-foot communications antenna as part of the proposed redevelopment of the old McKinley School at Monday night’s city council meeting.
Last month, Ward 4 Councillor Paul Argenzio filed a motion seeking more information on the microwave antenna, which would provide emergency communications backup for the fiber optics system for the new Metro North Regional Emergency Communications Center (MNRECC) at the school.
The proposed McKinley School remodel is also slated to include early childhood learning space and city administrative offices.
Some councilors and residents had raised concerns about the proposed height of the antenna, as well as potential health impacts and the devaluation of residential properties in the neighborhood.
At Monday night’s meeting, Mayor Patrick Keefe said the city would consider studying if the height of the antenna could be lowered without affecting communications for the MNRECC and public safety officials. Keefe also noted that other locations in Revere, as well as in Chelsea and Winthrop, were considered as new locations for the emergency communications center.
Earlier this year, the city council voted to approve allowing Chelsea to join the MNRECC alongside Revere and Winthrop.
Argenzio and several other councillors said they were concerned that they were not made aware of the antenna tower prior to voting on the MNRECC agreement.
“This is a public safety project, and this is also a multi-purpose use that’s going to be happening at the McKinley School, that we all know is a beloved parcel in the city of Revere that has been defunct for well over 10 years,” said Keefe. “This opportunity that arose just a few years ago wasn’t just an opportunity to restore the McKinley School, it was also the opportunity that was much needed in finding a new home for our 911 call center. If you’ve ever been in the 911 call center, it is hunkered down in a less than 4,000-square-foot space in the police station and it is vastly undersized.”
Keefe noted that there is no space in Revere that is not thickly settled or around people’s homes.
“This site happens to be more around commercial space than homes,” said the mayor.
Both Keefe and Fire Department Captain Kevin O’Hara noted that the tower will use a non-ionized frequency with no radiation microwaves and does not pose the potential health risks of 5G communications towers.
Argenzio said he supported the efforts to improve public safety, but added that he wished that the discussion about the potential location for the antenna had been had at the beginning of the process two years ago and not now.
Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley said she still had some concerns about how the antenna and the project will affect neighboring property values.
“I understand that we can’t relocate the hub, the whole facility,” said Kelley. “The mayor was kind enough to go through those alternate locations that didn’t work for various reasons, but is it absolutely a requirement that the tower has to be at this site? Can the tower be relocated somewhere else and has that been looked at?”
Planning and economic development director Tom Skwierawski said that if the tower was not located near the hub, the regional communications center would be vulnerable to the same types of communications issues it faces now.
Police Chief Maria LaVita said the antenna will not only provide backup for emergency calls to the center, but will provide improved communications for public safety officers communicating with each other in the field.
“It’s the portable radio system which allows us to communicate inside buildings,” said LaVita.
Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto, who expressed concerns about the antenna at a council meeting two weeks ago, thanked the mayor for making efforts to communicate to the council and for looking into reducing the size of the tower.
“That’s a big get, and I know it is expensive to do that, but I think it’s worth it and I think the neighborhood is better off for us looking at all of this and talking all about this,” said Zambuto. “We want the most state-of-the-art system we can possibly have, and that is why I am in favor of it.”
Reservoir Avenue resident Stephanie Desisto said she was still concerned about the impact the antenna would have on her property values and those of others in the neighborhood.
Desisto said she is not opposed to improving public safety in the neighborhood, but that she was opposed to a 145-foot tower being put in the middle of her neighborhood.
“I understand that there may be additional costs to do something differently here, but you can’t weigh quality of life and diminution of property values on multiple homes that are going to be impacted with the cost that may be incurred by doing something alternatively,” she said.
