Jupiter approves $128K radio pole to fix dead zone for police. Where will it go?

JUPITER — Leaders in Jupiter have approved $128,000 for a radio pole that will eliminate a dead zone for police communication radios in the southeast corner of town.

For the first time in a decade, neighbors who have long opposed the project are feeling cautiously optimistic.

That's because town leaders have promised to work with Palm Beach County, state and environmental leaders to one day move the pole across Marcinski Road to Ocean Cay Park.

More on the new location: Jupiter changes course on 100-foot-tall radio pole planned near the beach. Will it work?

More on circuit court appeal: 'Ridiculous': 100-foot radio pole lands Jupiter, condo association in court. Here's why.

First report: Jupiter police radios go dead in one corner of town. The plan to fix it has riled some neighbors.

The pole will be constructed in sections so that it can be relocated when a new location is approved, according to town documents that detail the project. 

Council member Ron Delaney said June 7 he was voting for funding the project as a "temporary pole that will hopefully someday be at the county park across the street."

Neighbors at the Ocean Bluffs South condominium community have previously rallied against the pole's location on a small square of town-owned land at U.S. 1 and Marcinski Road in the corners of the building's parking lot.

On June 14, a circuit court ruled that an attempt to appeal by the homeowner's association was not worthy of an opinion by the court.

The town council approved the location for the pole last August, when many Ocean Bluffs South residents had returned to summer homes and weren't following news in Jupiter. More than 1,700 nearby residents have signed a petition opposing the project because they say it was rushed through without their knowledge and that the pole threatens the aesthetics of the beachside neighborhood.

Lou Pietosi, the president of the homeowners' association at Ocean Bluffs South, said residents are looking forward to a July meeting with county leaders, who will decide whether to ask the state for permission to move the pole.

"The big day will come when the state makes the decision," he said. "If the state says we can move it and Jupiter doesn't, we know it was all a big charade."

Moving Jupiter radio pole to Ocean Cay park will require state approval

Jupiter Police Chief David England said in April that the moving the pole to Ocean Cay Park will not change the radio signal his officers need to contact each other.

He said the department uses software to map radio signals and that he's confident that moving the pole across the street will not create any issues.

But building at Ocean Cay Park comes with a host of bureaucratic obstacles.

The park is not owned by the town like the corner of the Ocean Bluffs South parking lot is. The park is owned and managed by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida, which must approve applications to use, sublease, convey or obtain an easement on the property.

To start that process, Jupiter sent a letter to the county encouraging the placement at the park. The county will decide July 12 whether it will petition the state to build the pole there.

Meanwhile, Jupiter leaders learned at a June 7 meeting that it will take about three months to build the pole at Ocean Bluffs South. The town has set aside $5,000 for landscaping and site fencing around the pole.

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering northern Palm Beach County at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work – subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: $128K radio pole approved for US 1, Marcinski Road near Jupiter beach