A committee charged with exploring better mobile phone coverage to Chappaquidick told the town selectmen Monday it is making progress.
In June, a storm of opposition formed on the day selectmen intended to award a contract to develop mobile coverage for Chappaquiddick. Instead, the board appointed a committee to research all viable technologies. The committee split into two subcommittees. One is exploring a distributed antenna system (DAS), the other a mobile phone transmitting tower.
The committee said both Grain Communications and AT&T have proposed building a tower in the 100 to 120-foot range, which might be disguised as a flagpole.
Committee members are working with Verizon to explore a DAS system. A preliminary survey showed a need for 31 poles approximately 40 feet high, located across Chappaquiddick. That design is still in progress.
“Initially, our focus was just on DAS,” said Woody Filley, chairman of the committee, in a phone interview Tuesday. “There are still issues about a tower, but in June, we had no carrier interest in cell service on Chappy. Now we have two carriers expressing interest. We’ve gone from no options to, realistically, two options.”
Among the next steps for the committee is analyzing the results of a survey sent earlier this month to Chappaquiddick residents. The survey is intended to gauge interest in the different technologies, the different carriers, and sample the concerns of residents.
Selectmen charged the committee with completing its work by Oct. 26.
Also at Monday’s meeting, selectmen accepted a bid from Bailey Boyd Associates, to administer the town’s $873,473 Community Development Block Grant. Edgartown is the lead town for the grant, which can also benefit residents of Aquinnah, West Tisbury and Chilmark. The money is used to fund energy efficient home repairs for low and moderate income families. The grant also helps working families with day care costs.
Bailey Boyd Associates was the only bidder, offering to administer the grant for $103,542. The cost of administration comes out of the grant.
“They’ve done this for us since we’ve been getting this grant,” said selectman Margaret Serpa. “It has always been successful.”
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