City tables cell tower request

A proposal to allow for the erection of an 80-foot lattice-style cell tower in Green River was tabled by the Green River City Council Tuesday night after the Council agreed residents needed more time to comment on the proposal.

Union Wireless seeks to build the tower at the vacant lot next to Ace Hardware on Uinta Drive, which Union Wireless representatives say would help establish an emergency communications network and improve service to Union Wireless customers living behind Mansface.

Initially it appeared the proposal would die for lack of a motion, meaning members of the Council would fail to make a motion to approve the request and not act on it.

However, after a suggestion by Mayor Pete Rust to discuss the issue, George Jost made the initial motion to approve the permit, with Gary Killpack seconding.

Amy Cox, the planning and zoning administrator for the city, said the city can’t rule on if radio waves coming from the tower pose a significant public health risk, saying the FCC regulates that issue. Despite this, some discussion focused on perceived health impacts from 5G wireless communications, which the tower could later support if built. The city can only rule on if the tower is in an appropriate place. Councilman Gary Killpack said his research had concluded they posed no risk to residents, reading information he gathered.

Amanda Shepard, a resident of the city spoke against the proposal saying the tower would be an eyesore in the city and cited Jackson as a place where the towers obscured the local scenery.

While the Council voted to table the issue until its next meeting to allow for more public input, one Councilman said he was ready to vote.

Councilman Jim Zimmerman said he was ready to vote on the proposal, saying he had heard from a number of his constituents believing the tower would be an eyesore and should be located elsewhere.

“I just don’t get it. My constituents made it very clear they didn’t want it built there,” he said.

Zimmerman said he believed the issue had been advertised and people were aware of the proposal as Killpack and Sherry Bushman had both said they received comments about it. He isn’t the only person against the proposal.

During a prior Green River Planning and Zoning board hearing regarding the tower, board member Tim Knight voted against the proposal.

“I believe that location is in the center of our community ... (the tower) is kind of an eyesore,” Knight said.

Kight said the tower would block views of Castle Rock and other visually pleasing aspects of the city.

Kinght said he would rather see the tower relocated, saying he wasn’t against the Union Wireless’s proposal, but thinks it would be better someplace else.

 

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