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REDDING — A cell tower proposed for the northwestern part of town is drawing support, as well as some criticism, from residents.
Infrastructure development company MCM Holdings is looking to build a wireless telecommunications facility with a 150-foot tower at Camp Hoyt on Marchant Road — a 174-acre property owned by Connecticut Yankees Council Inc., a chapter of the Boy Scouts of America.
According to the technical report MCM submitted to the town in April, the tower would allow Verizon Wireless and other carriers to provide “reliable wireless service” to portions of northwestern Redding, as well as southwestern Bethel and southern Danbury, where Verizon's coverage is currently lacking.
Redding resident Alexis Stroud Long said she has no problem getting AT&T service at her home but said she has to drive to Bethel to use Verizon devices.
“Verizon stinks in this area,” she said. “Until I used AT&T, I thought it was a cell tower issue in this town.”
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MCM Holdings has not yet submitted a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need application with the State Siting Council for the Camp Hoyt tower, which can only move forward with the approval from the Siting Council.
“If a technical report was submitted to the town, the proposal is probably in the 90-day municipal consultation process that is required prior to submitting an application with the Siting Council,” Siting Council Executive Director Melanie Bachman said Monday.
If the project is approved by the Siting Council, MCM Holdings — which has entered into a long-term ground lease with the owner of the Camp Hoyt property — would build, maintain and own the Marchant Road telecommunications facility, according to the company’s technical report.
Police Chief Mark O’Donnell told Hearst Connecticut Media he hadn’t heard about the proposed cell tower but said that “if it improves overall service, then it’s a good idea.”
Others in town agreed.
Resident John Queenan said he “would love to have better coverage in town,” and doesn’t think Camp Hoyt is a bad location for a cell tower.
“(It) has to go somewhere,” he said. “If I understand the location, I’m not going to even notice it driving by.”
According to MCM’s technical report, other locations were considered for the tower, but they either failed to provide adequate coverage to the target area, were deemed “not viable for Verizon siting,” or would have had greater environmental impacts.
Resident Gary Palmer said improved cell coverage is “desperately” needed in Redding.
“It is a matter of public safety,” he said. “In 2019, we lost power for over a week — no cell service, no water, no wellness check on our dead-end road that was blocked with fallen trees tangled in power lines. We were on our own and things got pretty desperate.”
Resident Clay Cowan said he believes a new tower would be “a welcome addition by most in the community” as long as Redding’s rural nature and environment are kept in mind.
Even though preliminary environmental reviews indicated a low likelihood that any rare, threatened or endangered species or habitat exist at the Camp Hoyt site, according to MCM’s technical report, measures would be implemented and surveys conducted to ensure there are no potential adverse impacts on wildlife and plant habitats.
But resident Nancy MacDowell Kaye said she opposes the Camp Hoyt tower and has concerns about how it would impact the New Pond Farm Education Center — a 102-acre property with a small working farm on Marchant Road that offers science, agricultural and other programming.
“I feel for New Pond Farm and … the kids who come to camp there,” she said. “This is not something to be in view of New Pond Farm and their camps.”
Ann Bostelmann, executive director of New Pond Farm Education Center, could not be reached for comment.
Resident Yuriy Ignatenko said he doesn’t see the point of building another tower in Redding — which, according to Bachman, already has six traditional towers and two electric transmission line structures with antenna attachments.
“We have several … towers across the town, but no reasonable service,” Ignatenko said. He said he saw no improvement after upgrades were made to a tower off Ditmar Road about 10 years ago.
“The company who vouched for this promised to have T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T on top of existing Sprint. They upgraded a tower, but no one came,” he said. “My wild guess would be the same will happen to (the) Camp Hoyt tower.”
According to MCM Holdings, Verizon Wireless has already entered into a long-term lease with the company for use of the proposed tower facility.
Resident Pamela Loren said she’s in favor of the proposed Camp Hoyt tower and believes others should be, too, noting that wireless technology has become an integral part of everyday life and infrastructure is needed to improve it.
“We all want to be part of the technology when it functions at maximum level; we just don’t want to be part of the process,” she said. “It is a situation for which there is no clear-cut solution: only better and worse options. The best possible option is to fully embrace (the Camp) Hoyt tower.”