SEYMOUR – Town officials, in an effort to generate a new revenue source, are exploring whether to build a cell tower at the Great Hill Hose Fire Co. property on Botsford Road.
The town-owned property at 140 Botsford Road is the leading candidate of three town-owned properties under consideration, Seymour Finance Director Jason Vieira told the Board of Selectpersons during a meeting Oct. 6.
Vieira said Seymour could collect between $200,000 and $250,000 in annual revenue if they build a cell tower. The cost to build a tower has not been finalized but estimates put construction at between $300,000 and $500,000.
In 2014, AT&T wanted to put a cell tower at 140 Botsford Road and offered to pay $18,000 a year, according to a proposal. However, that plan was met with opposition from the town and neighbors. It did move forward.
Now the town is talking about paying to build a tower themselves, and then generate profit by leasing space on the tower to companies like Verizon.
Selectman Scott Andrews told his fellow board members to expect some pushback from neighbors given the preferred location is the firehouse property again.
“Last time, there was a lot of opposition, and we should be prepared for some pushback from people in the area,” Andrews said.
Neighbors at the time said the town tried to spin the tower as a safety issue when it was really a revenue grab. They said a cell tower doesn’t belong in a residential zone. Click here for a previous story.
In August the town hired Airosmith, LLC, a telecommunications company, to search for a suitable location for a cell tower on public property.
Airosmith is being paid $2,600.
Vieira said town officials met Sept. 17 with Airosmith and Verizon to visit potential Seymour cell tower sites. Verizon was involved because the company reached out to the town earlier this year asking about a new cell tower. Vieira said Verizon is looking to expand its coverage in the area.
They visited Gary Park off Davis Road, Seymour Middle School on Mountain Road and the Great Hill Hose firehouse on Botsford Road.
Gary Park and the middle school were not good candidates, officials said. Gary Park is too close to a cell tower at Nolan Field in Ansonia. The land at the middle school doesn’t meet elevation requirements.
That made Botsford Road the best location. There’s also a 160-foot emergency communications radio tower on the property, which a cell tower could replace while accommodating the existing antenna.
“They do believe a tower would work there,” Vieira said. “They would take the existing tower down and a new tower would go on the left side of the property near a storage container and some propane tanks. The elevation is proper and preferred.”
Vieira said the monopole would be about 140-feet tall.
He said the cell tower would be painted to blend in with the trees and the landscape. It would not be disguised as a fake tree, a type of cell tower design.
Vieira said he would bring the Selectpersons an update with costs, size of the tower and other details, at its next meeting Nov. 4.
The Connecticut Siting Council has jurisdiction over the placement of cell towers in the state. The local land use board can make suggestions and play an advisory role, but the decision ultimately rests with the Siting Council.
Presumably if Seymour moves forward, the town will be applying to the Siting Council for approval. The siting council would schedule public hearings.
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis has said she sees the benefit in the town building its own cell tower.
“We’re currently paying to use other people’s towers, and this (building our own tower) would allow us to have control of our radios, and then there’s also the steady revenue stream,” Drugonis said.