Minutes of Town Board Meetings
- Planning Board
- Board of Adjustment
- Select Board
- Budget Committee
- Building Committee
- Energy Commission
Search Minutes of Town Board Meetings
2007 Planning Board Archives
- Minutes of 12/06/2007
- Minutes of 11/14/2007
- Meeting Notice for November 14, 2007
- Minutes of 10/4/2007
- Minutes of 09/25/2007
- Minutes of 09/06/2007
- Minutes of 08/16/2007
- Minutes of 08/02/2007
- Minutes of 07/25/2007
- Minutes of 07/05/2007
- Minutes of 06/07/07
- Minutes of 05/09/07
- Minutes of 05/08/07
- Minutes of 05/03/07
- Architectural Design Review
- Minutes of 4/05/2007
- Minutes, 3/1/2007
- Minutes of 02/01/2007
- Minutes of 01/25/2007
- Minutes, 1/16/07
- Minutes for January 4, 2007
Older Archives
Minutes of 08/16/2007
September 1st, 2007
Carroll Planning Board
Minutes
Cell Tower Public Hearing Continuation
August 16, 2007
“These minutes of the Town of Carroll Planning Board have been recorded by its Secretary. Though believed to be accurate and correct they are subject to additions,
deletions, and corrections by the Planning Board at its next meeting when the Board votes its final approval of the minutes. They are being made available at this time to conform to the requirements of New Hampshire RSAS 91-A:2.”
Members of the Board present: Vice Chairman Evan Karpf, Connie Oliver, John Sweeney, Rena Vecchio, Ernie Temple
Member of the Public present: Tom Hildreth, Ken Kelly, Edith Tucker, Leslie Bergum, Erik Bergum, Bill Rines, Jim Covey, Carmine Fabrizio, Ann Fabrizio
Minutes taken by Susan Kraabel, Secretary Pro Tem
Pledge of Allegiance
Meeting called to order at 7:06 PM
Vice-Chairman Karpf told the board he would entertain a motion to approve the minutes of the July 25, 2007 Planning Board meeting. A correction was made to the spelling of Bob Cirus’s name, and on page 3, bottom line, the word “fees” should be “feels.” Ernie Temple moved to approve the minutes as corrected, Connie Oliver seconded, and the motion was passed with Rena Vecchio abstaining, as she had not attended the meeting.
Dr. Karpf said he’d met with Mike Brunetti who had provided the board with more information about Dartmouth Brook. He pointed out that the last page of the material was their latest draft design for the subdivision. Dr. Karpf said he had this meeting because of his concerns about the wildlife in the area. He said he plans to walk the area early next week. Ms. Oliver will go with him, and John Sweeney and Ernie Temple said they will do so tomorrow. Leslie Bergum said the wetlands are marked, and members of the Conservation Commission want to walk the grounds too.
Dr. Karpf then advised that the Board was resuming the public hearing for the Verizon Wireless Telecommunications Tower.
Tom Hildreth said that at the last meeting they discussed Plan A and Plan B for construction of the cell tower. Plan A was if they could lower the height slightly to eliminate the need for lighting of the tower. Plan B was, in the event Plan A did not pass, alternatives at the town hall site with micro cells. He said since then Dr. Karpf had received word from the FAA that if the tower is reduced to 86 ft. in height, it would not have to be lit. Donna O’Neill of the FAA has given preliminary approval to that plan, and Verizon has already filed for the official final approval.
The board discussed the conditions by which it could approve the cell tower.
1. The tower shall be located in the position as set out in approved plans located at least a distance equal to or greater than 125% of the proposed tower height from the nearest property line.
2. The finished tower shall not exceed 86 ft. in height from ground level and it shall be so designed and installed as to resemble the trees in the surrounding area so as to blend in with the foliage there on a year round basis.
3. The tower design as to aesthetics (including tree design, color, and finish) shall be submitted to the Carroll Planning Board and approved by the Board.
4. The tower shall be capable of enabling the services of at least one other provider.
5. The Applicant shall pay for the reasonable expenses incurred by the Town in retaining a radio frequency engineer consultant for this tower application, hearing and follow-up inspection after approval. The Applicant shall also pay for the reasonable expense incurred by the Town for a consultant to estimate the removal expense covered in section 6 herein.
6. A bond shall be posted payable to the Town of Carroll acting by and through its Board of Selectmen in an amount sufficient to cover the costs for removal of the tower and associated structures when no longer in use or when the conditions contained herein have been found to be violated after a right to a hearing has been afforded to the Permitee. The fee for such bond will be paid by the Applicant.
7. A new set of plans with a rendering and accurate representation of the proposed tower shall be filed with the Board subject to its approval to ensure that the plans reflect these conditions.
8. Accommodation shall be made to allow the Town of Carroll to locate police and fire antennae on the tower for emergency purposes with installation expense borne by the Town but without rental or use fees for the location and use.
9. The Board shall be kept informed of the proceedings, hearing dates and the type of tower to be built in Bethlehem on Mt. Oscar, which will visually impact the Town of Carroll.
10. The Applicant will resubmit an application to the FAA at the 86 ft. height for approval of this height with no lighting.
11. The Applicant will be responsible for repairs of any damage to pavement on Harmony Hill Road, as this has been newly paved.
Mr. Hildreth was asked what happens if the FAA does not give final approval to the 86 ft. unlighted tower, and was told they would come back to the board and look at Plan B and compare its benefits and drawbacks with a 90 ft. lighted tower on Harmony Hill Road. Dr. Karpf said Ms. O’Neill had told him that the finished height of a tower is often higher than approved, and it needs to be stipulated that in order to be unlit, the tower must be a finished height of 86 ft. AGL (above ground level).
Mr. Hildreth said he could give the board bond amounts from other towns who’ve built towers, and Ken Kelly said typically they are $25,000 +/-.
Jim Covey asked if the pole could be brown rather than silver, and have branches that have various size branches – smaller at the top – that look like a real pine tree does. Mr. Kelly said they could do that, and it would look good because the height is not that much above the surrounding trees. When asked how long the board approval for design would take, Dr. Karpf said it could be as much as 30 days. He said they would need a quorum and would try to get this done as soon as possible, not waiting for one of their regular monthly meetings if they could raise a quorum sooner.
Ms. Vecchio said she also took pictures of the last balloon test, and was disappointed with the views. She asked Mr. Covey how he felt about the board approving this tower. He said at 86 ft. with branches and a brown pole, and no lights, he could live with it. Ms. Vecchio then asked what happens if Bethlehem rejects a tower on Mt. Oscar. Does our tower get put on hold? Will there be another tower in our view, in our town? Mr. Hildreth said they would look for other properties in the search frame. They would still use this tower, as coverage in this area is important. He said they are optimistically working with the Mt. Washington Hotel on placement of a tower on Mt. Oscar. When asked how high the trees are on Harmony Hill, Mr. Hildreth said 65-70 ft. He said he expects to be back at some point for a tower going north – in the vicinity of the transfer station.
Mr. Sweeney asked why they couldn’t do a master plan for the town of possible sites instead of doing them piecemeal. Mr. Hildreth said it makes sense, but is not the way it’s ever been done. They do one site at a time. Among other things, there are a finite number of sites in the budget each year, and they sometimes fill in holes when coverage shrinks with a lot of usage. He said he doesn’t think coverage will shrink here for a long time. Mr. Kelly said they have no plans for a north/south tower at this time. They are not looking for property for the north/south coverage right now.
Dr. Karpf asked if Mt. Oscar fails, would they be likely to come back to the board for another tower in Carroll, and was told yes. A discussion of perhaps having the tower be shorter than 86 ft. brought up the condition that there be availability for another provider, and Mr. Kelly said that if it were any shorter, there could not be another provider, that we were right on the line right now. Any lower and the trees would be too low for coverage.
John Sweeney made a motion to approve the Verizon cell tower application subject to the conditions stated. Ernie Temple seconded the motion, and it was approved 4-1 with Rena Vecchio voting nay.
Mr. Temple moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Sweeney seconded and it passed unanimously.
The Vice-Chairman declared the meeting ended at 7:50 p.m.