FARMINGTON – Cellular phone users in the Farmington area and those in viewing distance of Titcomb Hill Road will have to wait another month to learn whether a 150-foot tower will be erected there.

After nearly an hour and a half of back-and-forth discussion, the Farmington Planning Board decided to take the application from U.S. Cellular to install the tower before a public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8.

U.S. Cellular has leased a 10,000-square-foot parcel off the Titcomb Hill Road between Flint Woods and the reservoir from the Farmington Village Corporation, also known as the Farmington water district.

In addition to the three-legged self-supporting tower, the company proposed to put a 24-foot by 12-foot prefabricated building, a generator and a propane tank on the parcel. All that would be inside an 8-foot tall chain link fence, said Bill Goldthwaite, a consultant for the U.S. Cellular who handles land acquisitions.

Currently, there is a wireless tower in Farmington on the other side of town near Titcomb Mountain and the WKTJ radio studio. That tower can’t handle all the heavy cell phone traffic in the area and is becoming overloaded, hence the reason cell phone users commonly experience a busy signal when placing a call, Goldthwaite said.

The new tower would not only help with the traffic, but would improve reception in town and decrease the number of “dead spots.” Besides U.S. Cellular, four other carriers could sublease tower space, he added.

The town has a wireless ordinance already in place, which allows for this type of tower to go up in an area zoned as “farm-forest,” as the leased parcel is. Goldthwaite also added that the town and the Village Corp. would be able to use the tower free of charge. Farmington Town Manager Richard Davis said at this point, he couldn’t see the town’s need for space as Farmington’s dispatching currently goes through the county’s facility on Mosher Hill. But he did say it was an option worth looking into.

Concerns were raised by abutters about the visual impact the tower would have on residents.

U.S. Cellular sent a balloon 150 feet into the air while photographs are taken of the site from around town and then the balloon is brushed out of the photos and replaced with a tower to determine how the tower would appear from various points in June.

But abutter Stephanie Flanagan pointed out that how the tree line looks in June is drastically different from how it appears after the leaves drop.

Even in the balloon photos, the tip of the tower could be seen throughout the Farmington area, popping up above the trees and into the horizon.

Currently, the tree line around the tower site is 50- to 60-foot red pine trees, said Tom Holt, superintendent for the water district. He said income generated from the lease would go toward “trying to work it in to lowering our rates.”

It would cost $150,000 to build the tower including installing the foundation, labor and the tower itself, plus the $250,000 to $500,000 it would cost for radio equipment, Goldthwaite estimated. Once the board approved the tower, it would take around 30 days for it to be built at the site, section by section and then stacked up and bolted together. “It’s a very quick process,” he said.

Planning board members discussed taking the issue to a public hearing. “To me, this is a big enough issue,” Chairman Herbert York said.

“I am all for a cell tower in this town,” said abutter John Rainville. “I feel the public at large should know about this. There are a lot of people this town who should have a voice.”

Rainville also suggested that if the town was going to have an eyesore, they should be able to make some money on it. Currently, the wireless ordinance in place prohibits the tower from being put in a church steeple or for example, the bell tower of the county courthouse where taxpayers could see a reduced tax bill thanks to revenue generated by the lease.

York, as well as board member Craig Jordan abstained from voting on the issue, citing conflicts of interest. York owns land that has towers on it and Jordan is an abutter of the proposed U.S. Cellular tower.

It was eventually decided after several votes that the application would go to a public hearing after which board members will deny, approve or table U.S. Cellular’s application until a later date.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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