KNOX — As the town board considers two sites for a cellular tower, residents and officials voiced concerns and asked questions Tuesday at an informational meeting.

One site is at the town park in the hamlet. The other is adjacent to the town’s transfer station. The town owns both properties.

Supervisor Michael Hammond has lauded towers erected by other towns — Richmondville and Middleburgh — and the income they have generated.

As cell phone reception in Knox is sporadic and often non-existent, officials have also discussed raising a cellular tower for safety reasons.

Public forum

The town board gave a PowerPoint presentation on Tuesday of the proposed sites, using computer-generated images of both a 195-foot-tall monopole and a lattice tower superimposed on the vistas.

The Street Road property was donated to the town. It is in a land conservation district near the town’s transfer station along the Helderberg escarpment. It is also near the Hudson and Nancy Winn Preserve, a 158-acre tract of land donated to the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy.

Residents asked whether a tower should be placed anywhere other than at the highest elevation in the town and which of the two sites would serve the most people.

Hammond said the Street Road property would serve the most residents. Robert Price, the chairman of the town’s planning board, said earlier that the highest point in the town had been considered previously, but that it was abandoned because cellular reception would not reach into the pockets and valleys of the town.

A resident asked if a two-mile radius is the area that would be served by a tower. Price said a two-mile radius is where cellular companies say a person will get good reception. However, Price said, if you live behind a hill, you may not get good reception. When a resident asked if the town has approached cellular companies, Price said someone from Verizon was in the room. Price said he knows, personally, of six people in the town who have been approached by cellular companies; one lives at an elevation comparable to the Street Road site.

One man pointed out that, though a person with a cellular phone could be standing right next to a tower, he may not get any reception.
"Absolutely correct," said Price.

Dana Sherman, president of the town’s volunteer fire company, said that, for three years, the fire company has been pursuing a cell tower for income and emergency reasons.
"It’s bad up here for the guys," said Sherman. He said the fire company will keep pursuing a cell tower.

Because the proposed tower is less than 200 feet tall, it would not be subject to the Federal Aviation Administration’s mandate that requires a red light during the night and a white strobe light during the day, Price said. Neither a monopole nor a lattice tower would require guyed wires as anchoring points, he said.

Planning board concerns

On Tuesday, Daniel Driscoll, a long-time member of the planning board, outlined an analysis by six of the seven members of the planning board of the Street Road property encouraging the town to consider another site.

All of the members but Price are concerned about a cellular tower being erected at the property on Street Road, citing its location in a land conservation district and the purpose of the district as defined in the town’s zoning ordinance.

As the town board considered rezoning the land conservation district to allow a tower earlier this month, Councilwoman Patricia Gage said she didn’t want to set a precedent and go against the planning board’s recommendation.

Placing a cell tower at the Street Road property would result in significant aesthetic and physical impacts, according to six planning-board members — Driscoll, Bob Gwin, Betty Ketchum, Brett Pulliam, Mike Scott, and Tom Wolfe.
The six have also raised concerns about contaminating wells and construction of a tower on the land. According to the six members of the planning board, "virtually" the entire Street Road property is limestone, and, because of its many crevices, the bedrock may be unstable, which would pose a challenge when constructing a 195-foot freestanding tower.
Price said this month that a cellular tower at the Street Road property will be more centrally located than at the town park, will be at a higher elevation, and will be "relatively hidden."
Price said a tower at the town park would be "grossly visible."
The six members of the planning board say, "At the town park, the contextual difference would be less striking [than at the Street Road site] since the tower would be surrounded by various other man-made structures and visitors would likely be focused on a variety of other activities."

Graphics at Tuesday night’s meeting show images of towers from different locations within a two-mile radius.

Those who visit the land conservation district expect to experience a land conservation area or nature preserve, Driscoll said. "A cell tower at the entrance of [the land conservation district] would be completely out of context for the many people who visit, resulting in a significant visual impact," says the analysis of six planning-board members.

The proposed site along Street Road is adjacent to the transfer station. Hammond cited changes made there in the 1990s and current conditions.
"The transfer station needs are growing," Hammond said.

At the end of the meeting, he said the board would like to make a decision about a cell tower within six months.
Hammond said he didn’t want to sound arrogant, but the town is not subject to its own zoning laws. Instead of the board taking that approach, he said, the board decided, "Let’s talk about it first."