MVY Radio proposing 60-foot antenna 

MVY Radio is looking to improve its signal strength in the up-Island area by installing a new, 60-foot antenna at the Chilmark Fire Station on North Road property

The Chilmark Select Board approved referring the proposal to the Chilmark zoning board of appeals with a site visit during a Tuesday evening meeting in a 2-0 vote (board member Marie Larsen was absent from the meeting). 

But board members had concerns about impacts to nearby residents, considering the antenna would rise above the treeline. 

The request came from the Friends of MVY Radio, a nonprofit corporation that owns and operates the radio station. 

According to the group, while the radio station does have antennas on a tower in Tisbury and on the roof of Chilmark’s North Road fire station, the equipment isn’t robust enough to reach some residents up-Island because of the Island’s topography. 

Brandon Rogers, vice chair of the Friends of MVY Radio board of directors, led Tuesday’s presentation. He said gaps in service led the station to apply for and receive a supplemental, noncommercial license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast on an additional signal on the Island. In turn, the friends are looking to replace the current antenna on the fire station to provide full coverage. 

“It would be 60 feet, the approximate height of the tree line,” Rogers said. 

The friends would be responsible for constructing the structure, but would be willing to donate it to the town in exchange for a long-term license agreement for the new antenna. Rogers emphasized that a stronger signal would provide better coverage to the FCC’s Emergency Alert System, since WMVY would be able to provide these alerts to the Island. 

Additionally, Rogers said, the new antenna could boost coverage for law enforcement agencies’ communications systems.

Some Island law enforcement were present Tuesday to support the plan. Dukes County Sheriff’s Office Captain Anthony Gould underscored that the antenna would be promising for emergency personnel on the Island. “I believe for the network, both for the town and our communication systems, there’s definitely a lot of good projects we could potentially do with this,” he said. 

To assuage some concerns regarding the antenna’s height, Gould said the tower installed by the sheriff’s office in Oak Bluffs was 140 feet tall, but people can “barely see it”; he anticipates the Chilmark antenna would also have low visibility to people. Rogers said the organization has also been in contact with several abutters, and a consulting engineer had measured the sightlines. 

But considering the tower would be above the treeline, it may still be visible to some people. “People up high might be able to see it, on the south side of North Road,” select board chair Bill Rossi said.

Chilmark town administrator Tim Carroll said residents would see approximately 12 feet of the antenna above the tree line. 

Board member Jim Malkin noted the new antenna could be beneficial to public safety in the town, and asked if Chilmark’s police or fire chiefs had provided any input. 

Carroll responded that the town’s needs had been met so far by the tower at Peaked Hill. What the Island did not have was a local radio station to send out emergency warnings as part of a national program. 

“That would be the hole in our notification system right now,” Carroll said. “There are a couple of stations in New Bedford that reach Menemsha and Aquinnah; there are others that reach the other end of the Island and the Cape.” 

Rogers said he had spoken with Chilmark Fire Chief Jeremy Bradshaw about the antenna, who referred the issue to the select board. 

Rossi said despite the advantages the antenna could bring, he felt more information was needed to avoid “unintended consequences” for surrounding properties. He was also concerned that not all of the abutters within 300 feet of where the antenna was proposed to be installed may have been notified. 

“I think it should be expanded to 600 feet at least, just to … notify people and let them think about it and respond,” Rossi said. 

The caution stemmed from two wind turbines that were installed on North Road properties, which Rossi said affected people miles away. 

Carroll clarified that the project was coming before the board as the landlords of the fire station, but the friends will need to speak with the town’s building inspector, since the antenna will likely require a special permit. 

“All of these issues will be thoroughly examined by the various boards … and the public in this process,” Malkin said.