Lenoir County approves $403,000 Hugo Tower repair plan
Lenoir County commissioners approved two actions Monday tied to a $403,000 repair project for the Hugo Tower, part of the county’s emergency communications system.
The board approved an amendment to the county’s state OSBM grant expenditure plan and a contract with Motorola Solutions for the repair project. The tower supports the county’s 800 MHz radio system, which serves emergency responders and other public agencies in Lenoir and Jones counties.
County Manager Michael James said the county had previously approved using $451,000 in state OSBM funds for the Station 4 renovation project. However, he said uncertainty about whether the grant funds could be extended beyond June 30, 2026, led staff to recommend shifting funds to a project that could be completed sooner.
“We learned over the past few months that the extension of those funds beyond June 30, 2026, may not occur,” James said. “We wanted to reallocate those funds towards a project we knew we could deliver on a shorter timeline than our EMS station design.”
James said the county purchased the Hugo Tower in 2023 with grant funds.
“If you remember we bought the Hugo Tower, our 911 communications tower in 2023 with grant funds,” James said. “It’s a vital part of our system and due to recent inspections there’s been identified significant issues that need to be addressed to make sure that equipment is sustainable and safe long term.”
James said the repair had originally been expected to come before the board as part of the fiscal year 2027 budget, but the available grant funds created an opportunity to address the issue sooner.
“This amendment allows us to address some critical infrastructure, make sure those funds are exhausted within the state-approved timeline, and we’re not at risk of losing those grant funds to the state,” James said.
Norman Bryson, emergency services director, said the county had used the tower before purchasing it in 2023, previously renting space from the former property owner. He said problems were discovered during system upgrades involving microwave antennas on the tower.
“Through our time as we go through upgrades on the system there was found some issues with the tower,” Bryson said. “This occurred as we were replacing some of the microwave antennas that were on the Hugo Tower and it come to find out there was quite a bit of damage.”
Bryson said the needed repairs include holes in the metal structure, foundation issues with the guy lines, tension work on the guy wires, and tightening or replacing brackets.
“We’re not going to be looking at just tearing the whole tower down to put it back up,” Bryson said. “They actually have sleeves and stuff that will go over some of these areas for the repair to go ahead and keep it in place and operational while they’re going through the repairs.”
Bryson said the Hugo Tower is part of the 800 MHz system shared by Lenoir and Jones counties.
“It is part of our overall 800 megahertz system that is combined with Lenoir and Jones County,” Bryson said. “That is a simulcast site, which means anytime someone keys up a radio, all sites will come active at one time to be able to broadcast the information that’s coming across it.”
He said the tower also holds microwave antennas that allow communication between tower sites.
“It is also part of holding those microwave antennas, which is how the overall system talks between the towers back and forth,” Bryson said.
Bryson said the local system includes users from law enforcement, EMS, fire, Kinston Public Works, county Animal Control, county transit and the Global TransPark.
The board approved both Hugo Tower items after motions and seconds. No opposition was heard during the votes.
