First responders are working on a deal to build a communications antenna on the top of the Suffolk Water Authority Tower in Rocky Point.

Officials say that hills in the region have posed a problem for first responders for years, cutting off radio signals and leaving police and firefighters in the dark. The Rocky Point Fire Department built an antenna on the top of the water tower, which is the highest point in Rocky Point, to correct the problem. However, police officers use a different radio frequency and need an antenna of their own.

Legislator Dan Losquadro (R-Shoreham) introduced a resolution to set aside $1.5 million to build a similar radio site for the police. A spokesman for the county executive says the money is in the 2006 capital budget and that final negotiations with the Water Authority are taking place.