A 660-foot radio tower in Stutsmanville, a small community in northern Emmet County, 35 miles southwest of Mackinaw City, could provide severe weather and security alerts to the Eastern Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan, but lacks federal funding.

The Mackinac County Water Safety Review Team, comprised of 30 members seeking to provide water recreation safety in the county, supports the proposed installation of a National Weather Service transmitter on that radio tower, and is joining forces with groups in northern lower Michigan to convince Washington to fund it.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Gaylord, the Straits area, Cheboygan County, and Charlevoix County receive the worst weather broadcast signals in the state, something the Mackinac County team would like to remedy. While some people may pick up the NWS broadcast in Mackinac County, it is not reliable, admits the NWS, as it can go in and out, depending on what type of radio equipment one has.

The proposed 300-watt transmitter would provide enough signal to reach north to Drummond Island and Schoolcraft County and as far south as Charlevoix County, including Beaver Island, making it ideal for thousands of tourists and residents in northern Michigan and the Straits of Mackinac to receive severe weather or security alerts.

Now that the company that owns the tower, North Star broadcasting company, has agreed to the proposal, the team’s biggest hurdle is getting funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees all of the National Weather Service’s broadcasts and alerts.

In May, NOAA sent a letter to Congressman Bart Stupak’s office stating that it will not participate in the effort because of budget constraints.

According to Gary Foltz, acting director of NOAA, in the past six years, the number of active national weather radio stations has increased in the United States and its territories, from 514 to 930, with better than 40 percent of the transmitters paid for, in part or in full, by cooperators.

“This growth has elevated the percent of U.S. population able to receive the national weather radio watches and warning to better than 97 percent, thus surpassing the original National Weather Service goal of 95 percent,” wrote Mr. Foltz to Congressman Stupak. “At the same time, the National Weather Service share of costs for operations and maintenance has risen dramatically, both due to the shear number of transmitters, as well as the increasing costs of maintenance activities facility leases.”

The cost of installing the radio transmitter on the Stutsmanville tower would be minimal for NOAA, said John Wilcox, of Indian River, the emergency coordinator of the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) for Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet counties.

“We have a site ready, we have private donations to purchase a federally-recommended transmitter, and National Weather Service engineers have checked and approved the tower,” he said.

Both of Mr. Wilcox’s agencies provide backup systems for the tri-county communication infrastructure.

Mr. Wilcox and Jack Messer, Emergency Management director for Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet county, are spearheading the project to have NOAA fund the annual transmitter operational fees, which will be about $15,000.

“Anyone can purchase a radio receiver for $19 at your nearest RadioShack and would receive these alerts,” Mr. Wilcox said. The alerts, he added, are similar to the Civil Defense practice alerts broadcast over radio and television.

Mr. Wilcox explained the radio receiver would be on a silent stand-by and when the National Weather Service sends out a broadcast alert, a tone, followed by a message, is sent to those areas that will be affected to warn listeners.

“It would make weather and security updates and alerts available 24/7 to people in the U.P. and northern Michigan,” said Mr. Messer. “It would get an alert out much faster than 9-1-1 central dispatchers could.”

Both Mr. Messer and Mr. Wilcox have joined the Mackinac County Water Safety Review Team in a campaign to support the project. The group is planning to send letters of support to state political leaders, city, township, and state governments and agencies, and tourism groups.

The county water safety review team was formed shortly after Travis Brown of Gaylord drowned in rip currents at the Brevort sand dunes near St. Ignace seven years ago. The team includes Travis Brown’s parents, Michael and Debbie Brown, his grandparents, Wayne and Toni Brown, and several county, city, recreational, and environmental organization officials.

“It’s tragic that we cannot get NOAA to complete the project, especially since we are so close,” said Water Safety Review Team member Justin Carrick of the U.S. Forest Service, at the county water safety team’s regular meeting July 13.

NOAA’s cost would be to install a phone line and provide maintenance for the tower throughout the year, said Mr. Wilcox. He said the overall cost would not exceed $15,000 a year.

NOAA has 17 transmitter projects earmarked in its 2006 budget, all in designated high-risk areas, none in the northwest tip of lower Michigan or the southeast half of the U.P.

“Unfortunately, most of the Homeland Security funding is going to big cities, while smaller areas like ours is getting very little,” said Mr. Wilcox. “They’re forgetting a big population in northern Michigan and the U.P. There’s about five counties, including Mackinac County, that would greatly benefit from this transmitter.”

The next regular meeting for Mackinac County Water Safety Review Team is at 1 p.m., August 18, during which the team will finalize the draft letter of support.