Government

Town Officials Decry Lack of Civility from Cell Tower Critics, Agree To Pursue Alternatives

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Taking to heart residents’ concerns about proposed cell towers at Irwin Park and West School, especially with respect to people’s health, town officials said Monday night that they’re actively looking at alternatives. During a meeting that saw members of the Board of Selectmen and Utilities Commission admonish some for what they called disrespectful and uncivilly delivered remarks at a recent public hearing, officials said they’ve asked consultants to find out whether a different location in Irwin would still work and whether there are alternative sites in western New Canaan to the elementary school there. “We are going to set aside West School for now while we look for different choices,” Utilities Commission Chairman Tom Tesluk said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and attended by about 15 people. The commission has discussed its early-stage proposal since last week’s public hearing and concluded that “coming up with additional options and alternatives is an important part of what we are going to enter into.”

Specifically, the commission has asked consultants from Boca Raton, Fla.-based wireless telecom consulting firm Cityscape to look at relocating a proposed cell tower from the southwest corner of Irwin “up the hill, closer to the garage” and “to actively explore and determine what we would need up there” to achieve sufficient cell coverage in that part of town, Tesluk said. “With respect to West School, it is a trickier situation because at the moment finding alternative locations on the west side is difficult. But that is not to say that we are not going to look for alternatives.

Government

Residents Clash with Utilities Commission Over Cell Tower Proposal

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More than 100 New Canaan residents gathered at Town Hall Monday night to express their thoughts and ask questions regarding the Utilities Commission’s preliminary proposal to build cell phone towers at Irwin Park and West School in efforts to improve service in the north and west sections of the town. The meeting, which opened the floor to the public and was in session for more than three hours, was at times tense and acrimonious as residents and commission members clashed over how the process has gone thus far and how it could affect the town in both the short- and long-term. Utilities Commission Chairman Tom Tesluk opened with a presentation extensively detailing the plans for the proposed cell towers, but stressed that the purpose of the meeting was to garner feedback from residents and provide an opportunity for the consultants hired by the town for the project the chance to answer questions. He also reiterated that the official decision on the construction of the towers would ultimately be up to the Town Council and not the commission. “There has been a certain sense in this town, at a point, that maybe this is a done deal, maybe there’s been a Pearl Harbor sneak attack of powers, but I promise you there hasn’t,” he told the crowd.

Government

Commission Seeks Feedback On Cell Tower Proposal

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New Canaan residents are invited to public hearing to be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Town Hall to share their views on a proposal from the Utilities Commission to install 110-foot tall cellular towers at Irwin Park and West School. For the past several years the Utilities Commission, under the direction of the Board of Selectmen, has been studying various approaches to improving wireless coverage in town. The northern sections of New Canaan, in particular the northwest quadrant, suffer from serious wireless coverage gaps—some as large as 10 square miles—due to the town’s unique topography. Not only is this an inconvenience for residents, it also presents a serious public safety risk, as the town’s police, fire and EMS services all rely on cellular technology for emergency communications. During Thursday’s Town Council meeting, Police Chief Leon Krolikowski said “there have been incidents in the past where people have tried to make 911 calls from the north section of town and have not been able to get through.” He said a few months ago, a tradesman who was working in the northwest corner of town seriously injured his leg and almost bled to death because he was unable to reach 911 using his cell phone. “There have also been incidents of motor vehicle accidents where people couldn’t get through,” Krolikowski told the council members, adding that people who have been in accidents have sometimes had to “drive toward town until they get a signal.”

Wendy Dixon Fog, captain of New Canaan EMS, added that emergency medical technicians rely on the cellular network to get data and information about patients while they are on scene or in transit.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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New Canaan Police say residents have reported multiple break-ins of unlocked vehicles, including overnight last Friday. Several items were taken from a Mill Road vehicle, unlocked in its driveway, and two more cars on Silvermine Road were illegally entered. Darien saw 22 motor vehicle burglaries in a three-night stretch. Officials are urging residents to safeguard their valuables and lock their cars. ***

There are about 514,000 gallons of water in Waveny Pool, Recreation Director Steve Benko said during a Parks & Recreation Commission meeting Wednesday night.

Government

Online Petition Opposing Cell Tower Proposal Garners 100-Plus Digital Signatures

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More than 100 digital signatures have been added to an online petition urging residents to oppose an early-stage proposal to improve cell service in New Canaan by installing towers in a public park and on school grounds. Posted through a Change.org account with an anonymous username, the petition describes the proposed 110-foot towers as “gigantic monopoles”—though just what type of towers they would be, if approved, is undecided—that will spoil views and property values. Though neighbors who attended a public meeting this week of the Utilities Commission—the advisory group of volunteer residents charged with proposing ways to improve cell service in New Canaan—put questions and concerns about the towers directly to its members, the petition makes the assertion that “the town will not allow the safety of these towers to be debated, believing that the government’s proclamation of their safety has laid that argument to rest.”

In truth, the Town Council is expected to hear from the Utilities Commission at its own April 20 meeting. During their meeting Wednesday night, members of the Town Council discussed the best way to sequence and accomplish the twin goals of supplying information to residents and soliciting their feedback—preferably in that order, in hopes that accomplishing one may improve the other. Unsigned by its author, the petition appears under the rather ambitious username ‘New Canaan Residents, Tax Payers and Voters.’ It had garnered 129 signatures as of early Thursday evening, and among those who commented on the petition, more than 80 percent identified themselves as New Canaan residents.