Rutland Herrald
By Josh O’Gorman
staff writer | November 11,2013
staff writer | November 11,2013
KILLINGTON — A proposed cell tower is
supposed to improve the signal for callers along the Route 4 corridor,
but what will it look like and what good will it do for residents on the
north end of town?
The Killington Select Board recently heard from Elizabeth Kohler, a lawyer for AT&T Wireless, which is seeking approval to construct a 140-foot-tall tower on a 2-acre parcel just off Brad Mead Drive.
“We are here looking for town support and a positive recommendation to the Public Service Board,” Kohler said. “The Public Service Board gives great deference to the towns.”
In addition to the tower, the proposed project would include the construction of a fenced-in compound measuring 50 feet by 50 feet. The compound would include a small building with a backup generator.
Kohler said construction would begin “after mud season” in the late spring or early summer of 2014.
It is the state Public Service Board that will decide if AT&T Wireless receives the go-ahead to build the tower. Kohler is also seeking a positive recommendation from the Rutland Regional Planning Commission. The proposed location is near the existing cell tower in town, on top of Killington Mountain. Selectmen Chris Bianchi and Bernard Rome both noted they are AT&T wireless customers who do not get a signal at their homes on the north side of town and asked why the proposed tower would be so close to the existing one.
Kohler said the location of the proposed tower was “based on demand” and AT&T is looking at other sites in town.
The tower would contain 12 satellite dishes, with room for two more in the event additional carriers wanted to enter the Killington market.
Rome asked if there would be any attempt to camouflage the tower. Kohler said AT&T Wireless recently conducted a “balloon test,” in which they floated a 6-foot-diameter balloon at a height of 140 feet and then drove roads between two and four miles away, taking pictures of the balloon to use for a study intended to show how visible the tower would be.
That study is expected to be in the hands of town officials this week.
Bianchi noted the tower’s location would be in visible proximity to what he called a “popular tourist destination,” the lookout on Deer Leap Mountain.
“When you look out, the thing you’ll be looking at is the tower,” Bianchi said.
Rome said there were still questions to be answered before the town gives a recommendation, which Kohler hopes to have by the end of the month or beginning of December.
“There is a question of where it will be and how it will look, because those things can be pretty ugly,” he said.
josh.ogorman
@rutlandherald.com
The Killington Select Board recently heard from Elizabeth Kohler, a lawyer for AT&T Wireless, which is seeking approval to construct a 140-foot-tall tower on a 2-acre parcel just off Brad Mead Drive.
“We are here looking for town support and a positive recommendation to the Public Service Board,” Kohler said. “The Public Service Board gives great deference to the towns.”
In addition to the tower, the proposed project would include the construction of a fenced-in compound measuring 50 feet by 50 feet. The compound would include a small building with a backup generator.
Kohler said construction would begin “after mud season” in the late spring or early summer of 2014.
It is the state Public Service Board that will decide if AT&T Wireless receives the go-ahead to build the tower. Kohler is also seeking a positive recommendation from the Rutland Regional Planning Commission. The proposed location is near the existing cell tower in town, on top of Killington Mountain. Selectmen Chris Bianchi and Bernard Rome both noted they are AT&T wireless customers who do not get a signal at their homes on the north side of town and asked why the proposed tower would be so close to the existing one.
Kohler said the location of the proposed tower was “based on demand” and AT&T is looking at other sites in town.
The tower would contain 12 satellite dishes, with room for two more in the event additional carriers wanted to enter the Killington market.
Rome asked if there would be any attempt to camouflage the tower. Kohler said AT&T Wireless recently conducted a “balloon test,” in which they floated a 6-foot-diameter balloon at a height of 140 feet and then drove roads between two and four miles away, taking pictures of the balloon to use for a study intended to show how visible the tower would be.
That study is expected to be in the hands of town officials this week.
Bianchi noted the tower’s location would be in visible proximity to what he called a “popular tourist destination,” the lookout on Deer Leap Mountain.
“When you look out, the thing you’ll be looking at is the tower,” Bianchi said.
Rome said there were still questions to be answered before the town gives a recommendation, which Kohler hopes to have by the end of the month or beginning of December.
“There is a question of where it will be and how it will look, because those things can be pretty ugly,” he said.
josh.ogorman
@rutlandherald.com
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