Brandon Twp – More than 70 residents in the room were told they must wait at least another 30 days to find out if a monopole cell tower will be added to the tree-lined vistas off Allen Road.
On Tuesday, Jan. 13 at the Brandon Township Planning Commission meeting, commissioners tabled a decision for a special assessment for Sprint Spectrum PCS to construct a 190-foot flagpole- type tower on the Allen Road residential property of Scott Constable.
Attorney Wallace Haley, Sprint representative said the pole tower is the least visually obtrusive because antennas are fiberoptic lines, or filaments contained within the pole, eliminating the unsightly protrusions of a monopole or tower.
The commission voted to table, as a radio frequency report (RF) ordered by the commission was not available.
Sprint says co-locating on the existing tower on township-owned Seymour Road property would not provide sufficient coverage to what Sprint Attorney Wallace Haley calls a ‘drop zone? along M-15 from Oakhill to Seymour Lake Road. The commission therefore ordered a propagation map to be completed.
The map’or RF study–would indicate coverage disbursements based on both existing and potential tower placements.
While Haley claims co-locating on the Seymour Lake tower will not cover the M-15 corridor drop zone, commission members were unable to see proof or disproof of the claim without a report from the township-contracted frequency expert.
In August the commission requested the RF study to assist them in making an informed decision of whether an additional pole on Allen Road is the only way to provide coverage for the M-15 ‘drop zone,? or whether a Sprint co-location on the existing Seymour Lake tower would be sufficient.
Dave Donnellon contracted Larry Jefferies of Managed Communication Services of Fort Wayne, Ind. to perform the study. When the commission, however, asked for the report on Tuesday there was none.
Neither the commission, Haley, the township building department, nor Donnellon had a written report on Jefferies? findings.
When pressed by commission chairman Joe Rohovsky as to why the township paid for the report but it is not in anyone’s hands, Donnellon explained the report would be available soon, but could not say when.
‘I’m really disappointed in the township that we don’t have the information we paid for and we get nothing,? said Commissioner George Buhler. ‘They have the experts that say we need the coverage.?
Haley says, however, that Sprint paid for the survey.
Township ordinance requires a communication company must try to co-locate on an existing tower before constructing another tower in the township.
Further, the ordinance states the company must prove the co-location would not fill the gap before the commission is free to approve the monopole.
While Haley has provided propagation maps indicating co-location would not provide dropped coverage, Patrick Parks, attorney for surrounding Allen Road residents charged the commission to consider Sprint has not sufficiently proven co-location would not work.
Before chairman Rohovsky moved to table a decision, commissioner Donna Ferrara nodded to the audience and stated her documentation was sitting in front of her. While she did not indicate how she would vote on the issue she did say the amount of residents filling the hall was an indication of what the people want.
‘We’ve had three meetings about this,? said Ferrara. ‘We’ve had to have them all here (in the Old Town Hall) because of the turnout.?