City Approves Agreement With Forsyth For Public Safety Tower

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The Johns Creek City Council on Monday took another step in its plans to improve public safety radio communications in its jurisdiction.

The council on Monday approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners to utilize land in the neighboring county to construct a 195-foot public safety communications tower.

The site, located behind the Publix Supermarket at 6425 Old Atlanta Road, already has two towers on it, would eliminate gaps in radio coverage and would provide greater penetration inside buildings in the Shakerag area of Johns Creek, the city previously said.

According to the agreement, Forsyth County would allow Johns Creek to build the tower, and the city would bear the cost of construction, maintenance, operation and repairs. Forsyth County would be allowed to install a tornado warning siren and a public safety radio antenna, and it would be responsible for the cost of installation, maintenance, operation and repairs of those items.

Johns Creek currently uses a single Fulton County public safety communication tower at Jones Bridge and Morton roads to cover the entirety of the city. The one tower doesn’t have the strength or height to give all of Johns Creek optimum service for first responders.

Fulton County’s public safety communications network is nearing the end of its functional life, and the county is spending about $17 million to upgrade its old technology. The county has replaced the equipment on the Jones Bridge tower and will install equipment on this proposed tower in Forsyth County as well.

In June, 2014 the city proposed a plan to construct a 400-foot tower near State Bridge and Medlock Bridge roads in an effort to cover the entire city with one tower. However, after receiving community input, the city sought alternative solutions. Instead of a single, tall tower, Fulton County has upgraded its equipment at the current Fulton County tower location at Jones Bridge and Morton roads and Johns Creek is seeking a second site to serve the northeastern part of town.

Over seven months, Johns Creek evaluated multiple sites in the city and in Forsyth County, but rejected them for various reasons, such as poor signal quality, cost and undesirable locations.

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