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Additional Cell Antenna Approved for "AT&T" Tower
Bulk drop off fee increase sought
by Edward Paul Greiff
On Wednesday, March 12, 2008 the Putnam Valley Town Board held a public hearing and heard comments from MediaFLO USA Inc. regarding their proposed modifications to the wireless telecommunications cell tower located off Route 301. As you leave the north end of Canopus Hollow / Dennytown Road and turn left onto Route 301 heading east toward the Hudson River you can see the very large 351-foot high telecommunication cell tower jutting into the sky and blending into the mountainous range it has become part of.
Once again the Town Board passed a Resolution permitting modifications and additions to this existing wireless cell tower. The resolution permits MediaFLO USA Inc. out of Poughkeepsie, the right to "co-locate a 24.7 foot Ultra High Frequency (UHF) broadcast antenna on an existing 351-foot tower located on 14.8 acres of land on Route 301 in the Planned Commercial Zoning District. MediaFLO, as explained by their representative Margaret Smith, also proposed a 12' by 20" equipment shelter, two ground mounted KU-Band antennas, two global positioning antennas (mounted on the shelter), a heat exchanger, and a back-up diesel power generator.
Town Attorney Bill Zutt questioned Ms. Smith regarding their proposal and found they were in compliance with Putnam Valley's laws. A Negative Declaration in accordance with SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act) had been previously adopted determining that there is no significant environmental impact associated with the proposal, the Town Board was free to adopt the Resolution, which was approved unanimously.
This 351-foot telecommunications cell tower provides a vital strategic link to the wireless world in our geographic area. Fortunately, instead of each wireless provider vying for their own tower, this one tower is the co-habitat for many vendors. In a Resolution dated May 6, 1998 and on June 15, 1998 the Town Board granted a Special Use Permit to Spring Spectrum L.P. for a wireless telecommunication facility on the Tower.
Similar permits have been granted to:
New York SMSA Limited partnership d/b/a Bell Atlantic Mobile in March and May of 1999;
Omnipoint Communications in February 2000;
Nextel of New York d/b/a Nextel Communications in May and July of 2001;
AT&T in May of 2004;
New York SMSA Limited Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless in December 2004.
Each vendor was originally granted a Planning Board Site Plan Approval and a Town Board Resolution.
After the public hearing the Town Board turned its attention to the upcoming March 19 meeting agenda where a discussion took place regarding an equitable fee to charge residents for Bulk Drop Off privileges. The fee has been $5 but the Town plans on raising it to $20 for car loads, mini-van loads, small truck loads, and trailer loads. A compromise was reached and the Board decided to only raise the fee on car loads to $10, the rest would be $20. The Board is also planning to have an amnesty day for Bulk Drop Off but hasn't yet decided whether to have this day in the spring, summer or fall.
One of the highlights of the evening and a key item on the agenda for this evening's meeting was the adoption of the annual Leprechaun Resolution. As it turns out this is an important Resolution to protect the spiritual and ghost-like ethereal bodies that appear on the eve of St. Patrick's Day to paint a large green shamrock underneath the traffic light at Oregon Corners. Town Supervisor Bob Tendy researched the history of this precedent and discovered that at one time these Leprechauns's were caught in the act of shamrock painting and arrested. So the Town adopted the "Leprechaun Resolution" in order to give these ghost-like spirits the freedom to do their thing knowing that they are absolved of all wrong doing for a short period of time from March 14 to March 17. This year the honor of reading the Leprechaun Resolution went to Councilman Bob Cinque who displayed his thespian talent by reading the Resolution with the eloquent diction of an English stage actor.
On other Town business the Town Board plans to move ahead with checking the Ingersol property for soil contamination. They have until year end to make a final decision to purchase the Ingersol property for $1.
In their review of the 146 page Zoning Code document resulting from the Comprehensive Master Plan the Planning Board and the Town Board intend to make comparisons of at least four recently approved plans under the existing code as to just how they would be affected if approved under the revised zoning code.
The next Town Board meeting is March 19, 2008.
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