T-Mobile Says Steeples

Won’t Work For Antenna

Project Manager: Key Bank Still Best Option

By PATRICK WAGER • Special www.AllOTSEGO.com

COOPERSTOWN – After studying five church steeples suggested by village trustees, the Key Bank building, 103 Main St., still makes the most sense for T-Mobile’s proposed antenna, Project Manager Robert Willson told the village Zoning Board of Appeals last evening.

“Key Bank is the best choice due to its height and location,” Willson told the ZBA at its monthly meeting.  The other five locations his team evaluated were Templeton Hall (formerly Unitarian-Universalist church), and the Baptist, Catholic, Methodist Presbyterian churches.

“The new 4G technology uses a higher frequency that does not travel as far as 3G, hence the closer is better; the other five structures are tall, but they are farther from Main Street,” he said.

Due to the narrow design of church steeples, these structures would not be able to contain all of the panel antennas and would require a structure on the ground nearby containing additional equipment, he added.

Two public hearings are planned on the project: at 7 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Village Board’s meeting, and at 5 p.m. Feb. 5 at the next ZBA meeting.

T-Mobile’s planned “Stealth Box” would contain all of the antennas, housing cabinets and equipment in the one structure and be placed on the roof of the Key Bank.  The box, containing panel antennas and all the necessary equipment, would weigh approximately a ton and it would not be visible from Main Street.  If approved and built, it would be placed at the rear of the roof and be visible from Doubleday Parking lot.

The box holding all of the equipment is designed and painted to match the structure of the building and would be 14 feet above the roof line.  The cell phone signals would penetrate through fiberglass panels and the structure would have the appearance of a small penthouse or elevator shaft placed on top of the building.