SCARBOROUGH — The town of Scarborough will enter a lease agreement with wireless provider AT&T for space on the Public Safety Building communications tower, located at 275 US Route 1.

Scarborough Town Council voted in favor of authorizing the agreement on March 3.

The tower was constructed with the possibility in mind for leasing out space to various private entities, particularly cellular providers, Town Manager Tom Hall said.

The initial term of the lease with AT&T Communications/New Cingular Wireless includes a five-year contract at $2,500 a month or $30,000 a year, and there is an option to renew the lease five times for a total of 30 years, he said.

The town will continue marketing the extra spaces on the tower, Hall said. AT&T will be the tower’s first private provider.

“On some frequent basis, a couple times a month if not weekly over the last year, I’ve heard complaints from AT&T customers that Oak Hill in particular, which is really our center of commerce, is some of the worse coverage in town,” he said. “I cannot explain why that’s so, but apparently service used to be better. I’m hoping AT&T customers will see improved service here.”

AT&T will place six nodes on the tower, about two-thirds of the way above ground, Hall said. The six nodes will encircle the tower to potentially create 360 degrees of coverage.

Councilor Betsy Gleysteen said she would be more comfortable seeing the rendering of the installations before making a decision. She had concerns about the appearance of the tower.

“Unfortunately, I feel the tower, the way it is, even today, is just very unattractive in one of the most attractive parts of town, with the beautiful Public Safety building we have,” she said.

Scarborough’s communication tower ordinance requires co-location of providers, Hall said.

“There are no other locations because of other requirements in that ordinance that towers could be located in this area,” he said. “So this really roots back to a very clear thought, that there’s a practical requirement. That tower would exist there. Its general appearance is what it is. I’m not sitting here saying it’s nice to look at, but it’s a practical requirement of the business we’re in. This is just trying to maximize the potential benefits to our community and also to our bottom line.”

Council Chair Paul Johnson asked that councilors weigh aesthetics versus expanded cell coverage.

“If we want to talk about what’s actually of pressing importance to our residents, I would suggest that getting better cell service versus, ‘Hey, those five nodes are ugly on top of ugly’ — I think the cell service wins the day on that,” he said. “But perhaps I’m wrong.”

The issue of aesthetics is not unreasonable to consider, Councilor Don Hamill said.

“I’m not suggesting we delay the process, but it does not seem to me to be an unreasonable request,” he said.

Lack of cell coverage has been an issue in Scarborough for a number of years, Councilor Jonathan Anderson said.

“The issue that people, I think, really do have, or at least what I’ve heard a lot from residents, is the concern with coverage,” he said. “That’s really going to make their lives easier day-to-day. When you drive by or if you live there, I totally understand how you look at it and might not like what you see, but it serves a purpose functionally that I think everybody really needs right now and is reliant on.”

Councilor Jean-Marie Caterina also discussed lack of cellular coverage near the municipal building. She said she agreed with Johnson.

“I’m absolutely thrilled that we’ve found someone to rent space on the tower,” she said. “I know that was one of the original intents with the tower. It is in a perfect location for cell coverage. As a person who has AT&T who loses coverage totally up around Town Hall unless I’m on some sort of a Wi-Fi, I’m thrilled.”

Councilor Ken Johnson said he believes the issue of aesthetics is relevant if there are options for other equipment.

“If there are no options to the equipment, then it is what it is,” he said.

Gleysteen added that she is not against the lease agreement but just wanted an understanding of what the installations would look like.

Councilor John Cloutier said he was comfortable with the agreement. The tower was needed for the Fire Department originally.

“(The tower) was always intended to be used for this purpose,” he said. “We’re not going to go back and have it shielded like a tree now. I think we’re already past that point of no return. This is the first of what could be five (carriers).”

The top of the tower is reserved for the town’s purposes, Hall said.

Gleysteen made a motion to table the vote until the next meeting, but this motion failed.

The Town Council voted 6-1 in favor of the lease, with Gleysteen being the dissenting vote.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.