Middlebury Police Ask: 'Can You Hear Me Now?'

For years, the town of Middlebury struggled with communications issues when it came to police radio transmissions.

"We've improved in several areas but we knew, with the limited resources we had, we were still going to have issues getting in and out of some of the buildings," Chief Richard Guisti said.

The biggest area of concern is the Route 63 corridor, he said.

"Lower 63 and upper 63 are the two areas of concern," said Guisti. "The concern is the portable radios in the buildings, especially with the medical buildings. In the cars or outside the buildings, it's ok. But it's hard to transmit in the medical buildings."

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First Selectman Edward B. St. John said he is meeting with department heads today: Wednesday, August 29.

"The meeting is with the major departments involved — police, , public works — so we can resolve this particular issue," he said, adding that he will have more details on what that entails after the meeting.

Guisti Cites a Solution

Guisti said the town needs another receiver transmitter site in the Route 63 area.

"It could be down by or near Park Road Extension," he said. "It looks like that will adequately supply us [with signal] and hopefully be able to get us better radio communications in that area. That's being worked on now."

Guisti said there is no estimated time of completion.

Safety Is A Priority

Guisti said he is comfortable with the future plans and where the town is headed. He said the only concern is whether there will be finances to accomplish the tasks.

"The bottom line is, you've got to make it safe and I want to make it safe for my men and women and the residents in town," he said. "We just want to make sure when we get to their home or business, that we're able to communicate, especially if it's a medical call. We want to be able to communicate out."