OTISFIELD — U.S. Cellular will not build a communications tower in Otisfield.

Nearly 16 months after the Planning Board approved the application by U.S. Cellular to construct a 180-foot communications tower on Scribner Hill to accommodate equipment for cellphone companies and the town’s Fire Department, the issue is dead and the town still has no cell coverage.

In a letter dated May 7, Auburn attorney M. Kelly Matzen of Trafton & Matzen informed Oxford County Superior Court in Paris, which had taken over the controversial issue, that U.S. Cellular was returning the permit to the town and the case was now moot.

Matzen said his client decided not to build a cell tower in Otisfield but rather concentrate its resources on upgrading its services across the country.

On Monday, Justice Clifford Roberts dismissed the case.

The move surprised the town’s attorney and town officials, who spent more than $40,000 defending the town after a grassroots group of residents — known as the Friends of Scribner Hill — banded together to legally challenge the permitting process.

“Their (U.S. Cellular) lawyer thought the case was pretty darn good. He seemed as much surprised as our lawyer was,” Selectmen Chairman Hal Ferguson said of the move to withdraw the approval and permits to construct the tower.

Friends of Scribner Hill members defended their action Tuesday, saying the fault lies directly with the Board of Appeals, which they say made mistakes and violated the town ordinance on four occasions.

“(They) left us no alternative but the court system,” Kristen Roy said on behalf of Friends of Scribner Hill in a statement.

Roy said the group’s intent was simply to provide the town with the best cellphone service with the least visual impact.

During the past year, Friends of Scribner Hill filed four appeals, saying proper notification of abutters was not given, the Planning Board failed to meet some criteria set in the town’s telecommunications ordinance and the Planning Board failed to address residents’ concerns.

The case eventually was taken over by Oxford County Superior Court. On Jan. 31, Justice Clifford ruled that Friends of Scribner Hill is an unincorporated association and does not have the standing to challenge the Board of Appeals decision last spring that upheld the Planning Board’s January 2012 approval to build the tower.

The judge also dismissed two complaints by plaintiffs, who alleged violation of Maine’s Freedom of Access Act and a request for a trial of the facts.

The plaintiffs and defendants were awaiting a decision by Clifford when U.S. Cellular pulled out of the process.

“I support their (Friends of Scribner Hill) right to challenge it. But we’re certainly disappointed having spent that money to not have coverage,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson said the town’s cost to defend itself in court to date is $40,233.

“We could have used that money elsewhere,” he said.

Ferguson said the decision has left the town without an emergency safety net.

Town officials say only about 30 percent of year-round and summer residents have cellphone communication and the Fire Department and rescue portables have a mile radius, at best, in many areas of town.

“We don’t have a responder, which is a safety factor,” Ferguson said of the town’s ongoing problem with emergency workers having to rely on telephone calls from landlines to communicate with each other. “We were kind of hanging our hat on it.”

ldixon@sunjournal.com

Statement of Friends of Scribner Hill

It is very unfortunate that the town of Otisfield and U.S. Cellular decided not to work with us to get the best tower possible for the town. It was never our intent to deny cellphone service to anyone in Otisfield; it was always our intent to get the best cellphone service for the town with the least visual impact.

We also never intended for this to go to court. All we wanted was a proper review to determine what was best for all of the town’s residents. During the court proceedings we offered to meet with U.S. Cellular through our attorneys to discuss alternative designs and heights for the tower on Scribner Hill, but this request was turned down.

The reason this went to court and the reason there continues to be no cellphone service available to the largest number of Otisfield citizens lies solely on the Appeals Board of the town of Otisfield.

They chose to ignore admitted mistakes and blatant violations of the town’s ordinances on four separate occasions and left us no alternative but the court system.

Mistakes were made, feelings were hurt and feathers ruffled. However, we, the Friends of Scribner Hill, believe it is time to set aside our differences and work together to achieve what is best for the town. We as a group have gathered a vast amount of knowledge regarding cellular tower siting.

We believe it would be a good idea if the Selectmen invited us to be part of a committee to rewrite a very outdated Wireless Telecommunication Facility Siting Ordinance so that future tower applicants will have a set of guidelines that work best for all the residents of Otisfield.

Kristin Roy and the Friends of Scribner Hill