New Ipswich will be conducting a radio study to determine where trouble spots are and develop potential solutions, with the cost to be shared between affected departments.

The Select Board met with representatives from fire, police, emergency management and highway departments on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of spending $5,000 to conduct the study, and how the cost would be covered.

Assistant Fire Chief Cody Vaillancourt said that radio communication has long been an issue in certain parts of town.

“We have significant radio communication issues at the Fire Department,” said Vaillancourt, who said the current solution is to have firefighters using their personal cellphones to stay in contact. He said there are multiple issues, including aging infrastructure at the department’s dispatch, which is run through Keene, and the other being New Ipswich’s hilly terrain.

Police Chief Mike Abel said that the police use a different dispatch center, but the terrain problems affect his communications as well. He said that the department has better success with the mobile radios in the squad cars, which have an antenna on the car, but the body radios are where the officers find most of their issues. Sometimes, Abel said the officer is able to hear dispatch through the radio, but is unable to respond or relay information back.

He said there are many situations where officers don’t have the luxury of returning to their squad car to report.

“The vast majority of the time, we’re by ourselves,” Abel said, noting that it is a safety issue to have an officer in the middle of an incident and unable to communicate.

Abel said the study would be a good first step in identifying trouble spots and possible solutions. Fire Chief Ben Hatcher agreed, saying, “The quality of communication is at the poor level. It’s unsafe.” Hatcher said at a minimum, knowing areas of town that communication isn’t possible through radios allows the departments to go in with an alternate plan in place.

“It’s more work for us, but we’re willing to take that on,” Hatcher said of devising backup communications methods for affected areas. “I’d rather know now than when we have an emergency out there.”

The board discussed how the $5,000 cost of the study, based on an estimate from Beltronics in Nashua, would be covered, as it was not included in the approved budget.

Department heads indicated they were willing to split the costs between their current budgets’ communications lines, and either delay purchases or cover it with underspent line items for the coming year.

The board also discussed whether there were remaining funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, grant received by the town that have been unspent.

Town Administrator Debbie Deaton said all the funds had been allocated, but some projects had come in under budget, leaving a current balance of just under $1,400. She said that some of the projects using those funds were not yet complete, and had the potential to run over cost.

Select Board Chair Shawn Talbot moved to approve the radio study, using existing funds from department budgets, with the board assessing in the fall any remaining ARPA funding which might be used to offset the cost.

In other Select Board news, the town plans to reinstate its defunct Building Committee to review town properties, with a particular eye for Building No. 2, located behind the town offices.

The building has been used as the town’s police station, but the department moved to its current location due to mold issues. The town has made several attempts to mitigate the mold issue, but has been unsuccessful. Currently, the building is used for storage and houses the Green Center.

Talbot said conversations about what to do with the building haven’t been revisited in several years. He said the previous Building Committee was tasked with looking at the current condition and suggestions for all town buildings, not just Building No. 2.

In the past, the committee included five members and a Select Board representative. Talbot agreed to be the representative, and encouraged anyone who is interested in joining the committee to contact him at stalbot@newipswichnh.gov or through the town office.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.