Jaleski: a 21st Century guy in a 20th Century environment

He stresses, and I must agree, that we should offer these latest information technologies to tourists and buyers.

PETER O’CONNOR
Guest Columnist
opinion@lbknews.com

Recent interest in an old subject around here prompts my discussion one hot afternoon at my place in The Bayou. Gene Jaleski tells me our subject is far more that just cell towers. He has brought some basic literature to help bring me up to speed. But first I ask some questions to gain background on this former Longboat commissioner. I had mentally labeled Jaleski as a 21st Century guy, operating in our 20th Century island home. He certainly is that, as we are.

Jaleski is originally from Larchmont, N.Y. That qualifies him as a seashore-type from the shore of Long Island Sound. He was educated there in local schools before going a bit east to Hotchkiss in Lakeville, Conn., for prep school. College followed at Brown, with a Master’s at the University of Washington. He tells me he is a sailor, once coming in 3rd nationally in racing 110 class boats. He likes travel, claims no time at tennis or golf. He’s been here on Longboat Key since 1985. Living in the Village, he’s been a member of the Village Association since then.

He describes himself as a “participating resident” here. He has concentrated on beach renourishment and reclaimed water issues, with the study of reverse osmosis vs. reclaimed water as a special interest. Like so many educated in the great Northwest, Gene worked for a time for Boeing. He was production manager for Helen Reddy, then moved to Lake Tahoe in 1975.

Gene built on his UW training and Boeing experience to design some of the first point-of-sale terminals for KENO in Casinos. He recalls this Nevada experience as “cutting edge.”

Jaleski plans to stay active in this, his community. He plans on doing some consulting—he’s involved in Early Intervention Education. He’s off to New York soon on a project for schools in the city. He developed a Web site used in teacher recruiting and employment 12 years ago. He’ll visit that system’s home in Yorktown Heights this summer. Gene says his field is Business Engineering—the application of technology to business, for example casinos. Sounds like a solid definition of engineering to me.

Cell towers
We talk a bit about the reemerging local issue of cell towers. The potential for a cell tower at Longboat Island Chapel is still a question; we agree its unknown. Lately there is the question of a tower of some sort at Spanish Main. At least one LBK commissioner appears to be facilitating this discussion. A visit to that charming community, near our north end, doesn’t demonstrate any obvious potential in this need. My photo might aid you in your quick evaluation. Town staff is looking deeper

So we discuss the underlying issue, the need that drives these tower location discussions. He notes that there never has been the will to have a cell tower on Longboat Key before now. The evidence is that no one has ever applied to build one. Further, he says, we are a small retirement community—we get adequate service for the majority of our people (AT&T in NYC drops 4 percent of its calls). The more sophisticated equipment coming on the market will require greater bandwidth and need to be closer to the transponder. More data moves through cell phones now than voice. A more complete system—Gene has called this MDI for Municipal Digital Infrastructure—will bring this community into a modern mode, attractive to visitors and residents plus enhancing public safety.

“We are using 20-year-old technology,” says Jaleski.

Jaleski describes Municipal Digital Infrastructure a fiber optic spine on which can be ‘hung’ various services. These can include WiFi, telephone, TV, Public Safety communications, Smart Grid for meter reading, surveillance cameras. We could easily add home monitoring—temperature, hot H2O heaters, inexpensive security services. Gene adds enthusiastically that any community—our town—could offer all this and make money. He again mentions security cameras at strategic locations, a hot button issue for Gene.

Costs, savings
We talk about costs and savings. Gene offers this: say for 9,000 residences WiFi and telephone now cost about $100/month or $900,000/month paid out in season, $500,000 off season. He assumes that MDI could supply these services for 45 percent of this, at a profit (to the town). This means further savings to every taxpayer through the profit to the town.

The advantage: all, including tourists as well as residents, should be able to acquire a WiFi signal everywhere —cannot now. In this day and age, for a modern up-scale community (like LBK), WiFi is a necessity. Tourists expect it. A tower adds nothing to satisfying this need, Jaleski says. He adds that residents and especially tourists are using and paying for cell service minutes for that which could be free. He stresses, and I must agree, that we should offer these latest information technologies to tourists and buyers.

We return to discussion of the potential cell tower at Spanish Main. Jaleski points out that a tower at or near the north end will not solve serious issues for the majority of our residents. (South end has problems too.) But, he says, the addition of a tower on LBK will defeat the providers of other technologies here. The town needs to expand best remedies first; we have not, says Gene. A tower at Spanish Main, if even possible, might mean some $25,000/year to one property—at negative value for the entire town. The town should not encourage a shortsighted patch, he stresses.

He checks service in my Bayou home, which is timber construction. We get great WiFi on my local network, one or two bars (baas to you Bostonians) for cell service, and poor to no data service. Gene calls this cell service ‘spotty, but OK’—says it’s spotty everywhere.

Jaleski says loud and clear that our community should not make a mistake. We need positive action in solving problems. That is MDI, he says. Jaleski estimates the system could be developed on LBK for roughly $250,000. That’s for an island-wide solution. Another tower now might actually hurt more Longboaters than it would help, by stifling enhanced system development and by denying all the financial opportunities to be gained. This in a time of financial crisis!

I called Jaleski a 21st Century guy trying hard to operate in a 20th Century environment. That environment might just be us.

This might be the reason Jaleski left the commission; I’m not sure.

’Tis time for some forward thinking. There is work to be done.