A new communications tower could be located on Factory Pasture Lane near downtown Kennebunk. Contributed / Kennebunk Economic Development Committee

The Kennebunk Select Board unanimously voted last month to issue a request for proposal to negotiate a land lease on town-owned land for a communications tower.

The tower would be located on 1.4 acres of town-owned land on Factory Pasture Lane near downtown, and is intended to improve communication service in town.

A strong communications infrastructure is vital to consumer uses, business uses, and public safety uses, said Economic Vitality Direcctor Stephen Houdlette.

“The need for communication is important,” Houdlette said. “I don’t think that’s controversial.”

The Kennebunk Select Board is interested in placing a communications tower near Factory Pasture Lane. Dan King / Post

The current communications tower on Hillcrest Lane in Kennebunk is a water tower with communications equipment mounted on top, Houdlette said.

While the tower has served well for a period of time, public safety tenants are now looking for improved communications service.

In a report from the Economic Development Committee, four parameters for a new communications tower were named: a site large enough to accommodate a tower, market viability, public safety accessibility, and land use.

“We don’t want to have towers everywhere,” Houdlette said. “If we’re going to have a tower, we’re going to do it right.”

The town would need at least two commercial carriers, such as Verizon and U.S. Cellular, to finance what would be a roughly $500,000 project.

The location on Factory Pasture Lane is ideal for a communications tower, Houdlette said. The area is zoned for industrial use and has communications towers as a viable use. It’s also close to downtown, and a communications tower at that location could fill signal loss holes along Main Street.

But some residents are concerned about the location.

Thomas Ericco, who lives nearby on Park Street, said he’s concerned about whether or not people in the surrounding neighborhoods know about the project. Some homes nearby would be at least visually impacted, he said.

“I work mostly from home and my cell service is terrible, so I’m looking forward to improvements in cell coverage,” Ericco said. “But I think the public needs to participate.”

The plot of land on Factory Pasture Lane allows for a building to be a maximum of 250 feet tall at that location, Houdlette said.

However, any communications tower built by the town would likely be closer to just under 200 feet tall, due to the need for structures more than 200 feet tall to have lights for aircraft visibility.

The Economic Development Committee considered two other locations on Main Street, Houdlette said, but ultimately decided to move forward with the Factory Pasture Lane location.

With the select board’s approval, the process of improving communications in downtown Kennebunk is underway, but it won’t be completed any time soon.

“This is just the first step,” Houdlette said.

In the future, the project will require further board review and, ultimately, voter approval to enter into a multi-year lease for the tower.