Alternate may be better tower site

CORNWALL — There is a new plan on the table that is delaying the state Siting Council’s decision on a proposed Verizon cell tower.

First Selectman Gordon Ridgway and Selectman Richard Bramley attended a Sept. 7 Siting Council meeting in New Britain. At a Board of Selectmen’s meeting that night, they reported that the council spent most of the time at the meeting reviewing more than 100 findings of fact.  Most of those were from the July 20 public hearing held in Cornwall. A straw vote on a decision was originally planned for Sept. 7, with a draft decision expected Sept. 23.

In the end, the vote was to extend the public comment portion of the process, to allow  distribution to interveners of a recently received letter.

It does not appear the extension will affect the final decision deadline of Nov. 2, although the Siting Council can seek an extension from the applicant.

Ridgway said the selectmen were not given the letter that day. They knew only that it was from Matt Collins and had to do with an original plan to site the tower at his 78 Popple Swamp Road property.

The Siting Council has advised the applicants repeatedly that at least one alternative site should be included in a proposal. In searching for that second site, Verizon found what it decided was a better option. In its application, it proposed a Bell Road Extension site (with little mention of the Popple Swamp Road site, which is on the same hillside).

Collins spoke to The Journal about his letter. He has been approached for many years now by companies seeking to build a tower on the hillside that rises above his home. He claims his property offers better line-of-sight to targeted coverage areas, with a ground level that is 125 feet higher than the Bell Road Extension site.

“Verizon chose not to use my property because they felt the access road from Popple Swamp Road was too steep,� Collins said. “The access road seems to be the bigger issue here. The plan for Bell Road Extension is also very steep.�

That proposal is opposed by the Cornwall Planning and Zoning Commission because portions of the road have grades steeper than local regulations allow. Drainage, particularly in relation to Popple Swamp below, is also a concern.

What Collins is proposing is for Verizon to use his property, accessed by Old Poughkeepsie Turnpike. He said that road has a gentle slope up to the top of the mountain, and is what Verizon is already considering for the Bell Road site. Instead of turning up a final steep slope to the currently proposed site, Collins is suggesting the access road continue onto his property to the original site.

Old Poughkeepsie Road is one of the issues raised by the Board of Selectmen. They have asked that further studies be done by Verizon of road ownership and easements to sort out a scenario that is not clear.The board also found minutes of an 1866 town meeting at which the road was abandoned as a town road.

But Collins has somewhat different information. He hired an attorney to do a survey.

He said Old Poughkeepsie Turnpike was used during Colonial times, mainly as a road to a ferry over the Housatonic River before there were bridges. It was protected as a right-of-way, as well, for the mines on Mine Mountain, in what is now Housatonic State Forest.

Collins is asking the town to either bring the surviving portion of the road up to normal standards, so it can be used, or abandon it entirely to clear the legal record. There are several houses on it. It borders his property, as well as that of Fred Thaler and Kathleen Mooney.

Collins’ interest includes the lease income, should the tower be built on his property. And not only does it have better line of sight, the tower would be more remote from the town there, he said.