Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Mansfield tower would help emergency communications

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 17:25:28 -0400

Mansfield tower would help emergency communications

Gail Ellen Daly - Chronicle Staff Writer

MANSFIELD — Planning and zoning commission
members learned Monday that the coverage gap for
both emergency services vehicles and cell phone
users in the southern end of town would be filled by
a proposed telecommunications tower.

If approved, the 180-foot tall monopole tower and
equipment storage facility would be located on a
town-owned site off of Clover Mill Road, near the
access road leading to the town garage and
Bicentennial Pond. The 10,000 square-foot site is in
a wooded area. No wetlands would be affected. A
70-foot by 70-foot wooden fence, which is proposed
to be 8-feet tall, would surround the site. Pine trees
would be planted between the fence and the access
road.

The town, which has a Federal Communications
Services license, would own the tower and lease it
to TCP Communications, Inc.

During the public hearing, Town Manager Martin
Berliner said that negotiations for a tower to service
the area began in 1999. The town council approved
the use and TCP is seeking a special permit.
“Our emergency services vehicle radios cannot
reach from one end of the town to the other,” he
said.

According to Wendell Davis, a lawyer representing
TCP, three carriers — AT&T Wireless, Verizon and
Sprint — plan to use the tower and there is room for
the other three carriers licensed in Connecticut —
Cingular, Voice Stream and Nextel.
Each carrier must go before the Connecticut Siting
Council for approval.

Davis acknowledged that the tower would be visible
from the middle school, Bicentennial Pond, part of
Route 195 and some areas along Spring Hill Road.
Spring Hill Road resident Alec Kozin said he would
see the tower every day while driving by. Kozin and
several commission members asked about alternate
locations.

Commission member Rudy Favretti wondered how
visible the tower would be during the fall and winter.
The commission received letters from four residents
concerning the tower. In separate letters Carol and
Richard Pellegrine questioned a site so close to
Clover Mill Road and suggested it be moved further
from the road. Wendy Parker and Ethel Larkin both
support the plan, noting the need for cell phone
coverage.

Davis said that all town-owned parcels in the area
were considered, but the town’s historic districts
limited the choice. “We walked the entire area and
it’s heavily wooded,” he said.

http://www.thechronicle.com/story_disp.htm?action=Search&story_id=aug05-99846&category=Local+News

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