Proposed cell tower location draws opposition

All of the area residents at the meeting who spoke said they felt the proposed location of the tower,near the road on a parcel of land near Fish Lake, and asked repeatedly whether the tower could be moved to another location on the property where it would not be visible from the Talkeetna Spur Road, and it was suggested that moving it to the southeast corner of the property would be a better location and still allow AT&T and others who co-locate access to the tower. Residents also asked about the possibility of moving the tower to other locations.

Gary Brekke, AT&T project manager for new site construction in Alaska, said several times during the meeting that locating the tower at its proposed location isn’t "cast in stone" and noted there is a process that includes public hearings for a conditional use permit, but noted that the regulatory process that AT&T follows, which takes about eight months, would have to start over again.

Lights on a recently installed tower just off the Talkeetna Spur Road in the Sunshine area shine directly into Dave Johnston’s house, and Johnston told Brekke and Zoe Morrison of Sheinberg Associates that he’s going to do everything in his power to get the proposed tower moved to a different location, away from the road.

In addition to wanting the tower to not be visible from the road, those at the meeting also said they don’t want the tower lit, nor do they want lights on the one at Sunshine.Brekke agreed that lights aren’t necessary on the towers and that AT&T did not want the towers lit either. He said he didn’t know for sure why the Borough required that the Sunshine tower be lit, but speculated that a pilot’s association likely requested it. As a pilot himself, though, Brekke said, "if you’re flying at 180 feet, you shouldn’t be flying."

Brekke and Morrison said the group’s comments will be considered and that AT&T will talk again with the landowner on whose property the proposed tower would be located to discuss moving it to a different location on the property, but residents remained skeptical even after the meeting that the tower would be relocated.

At the start of the meeting, Morrison said comments about the proposed conditional use permit were being requested by June 17. However, after learning at the meeting that the Talkeetna Community Council had received very short notice about the tower proposal and that the next council meeting will be in early July, indicated that the comment period could be extended until after that date to allow time for community input. She and Brekke also promised to contact those who provided e-mail addresses regarding the tower and vowed to do a better job of informing the media. Brekke also suggested that those at the meeting as well as others interested in where the tower is located contact Matanuska-Susitna Borough to express their opinions.