HomeMy Public PortalAbout2015.03.28 Letter to the city of McCall Verizion Cell Tower3/28/2015
To: McCall P & Z and McCall City Council
From: Tyrone O. Nash
1475 Divot Lane
McCall, Idaho 83638
Subject: Verizon Cell Tower
I Googled “cell towers in Boise” and came up with this site, http://www.cellreception.com/towers/towers.php?city=Boise&state_abr=id.
I counted 20 tower locations used by Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobil and AT&T. Many of the locations appear to be in highly populated areas which suggest that health issues are not a serious
consideration. McCall is very fortunate that we don’t have all the competition in phone service that Boise does.
I had the opportunity to talk to a Verizon representive after the last meeting on this subject. My questions were.
Why do we need a tower in town?
The Applications that people are using on their smart phones are causing a huge drain on the system. More capacity is needed to keep up with this usage.
Are there any towers in Boise, Idaho
Yes, and the Eagle Tower is now going to be installed. Many dissented to the tower and it was originally turned down. After the city looked at the potential for ligation and the costs
associated with denying the permit, they reversed themselves and approved the location and the tower.
I live on the Golf course and this is my primary residence. I have looked at the location on the ground several times and do feel that the tower will be well concealed from most homes.
This is one of the best locations on the GC that could have been chosen as it is well wooded with younger viable long living trees. Such as Douglas Fir, White Fir which is taking over
from the Lodgepole pine. Its my understanding that Verizon will plant 3 trees for everyone they remove, and they will be 8-12ft tall trees. If my count is right that is about 45 new
trees. The cost of one of these trees is about $500 each which means an immediate improvement to the GC of $22,500. The Lodgepole on the GC are mature old growth and they are reaching
the end of their life span. Lodgepole which are 80 – 100 yrs old are prone to insects and disease. Seedlings have been planted but will take 30 plus years to make a difference as a
screen for anything.
If the cell tower cannot be installed on city property in this location then I feel it couldn’t be installed anywhere in the city. The city will take a hit of $360,000 over a 10 year
period. As a property owner I don’t want to see my TAX’S increased to make up this loss. I know that we will have some form of increase in property tax or sales tax to fix roads and
pay salaries. I feel that it would be more palatable knowing that the city is trying to keep our tax’s down by accepting income from Verizon.
This tower will only be 30 feet above the existing trees and most of the lower portion will be screened by the smaller trees and new plantings. I would want to see the trees outside
of the enclosure left undamaged and in place if at all possible as most are well established, young and thrifty.
The Photo of the Utah tower that Verizon installed made the tower look more like a tree and blend in to habitat more than any I had seen in the past.
In conclusion: I feel this is good for the city and its tax payers. If we say no to this project it could go to a private individual in which the tower could be totally revealed and
we would all suffer this aesthetic disgrace upon our community.
Sincerely
Tyrone O. Nash