INDIAN RIVER SHORES — The Town Council voted Friday to move forward with obtaining permits to erect a 115-foot tree-concealed stealth cell tower at the Town Hall complex, ending nearly a dozen-year effort to improve cell phone service in the Town.
Only Vice Mayor Jerry Weick, a Bermuda Bay resident, dissented, saying that the Town Hall location would impact more homes than an alternate location at the end of Fred Tuerk Drive at Bee Gum Point.
Bermuda Bay residents have signed petitions and threatened to sue should the Town go forward with the plan, as there are more than 90 homes within 1,000 feet of the Town Hall property. But Town officials faced opposition no matter what their choice, as residents of John’s Island and The Estuary have already retained an attorney to fight the location of the tower at Bee Gum Point in sight of their homes.
An exhaustive radio-frequency study performed by CityScape consultants showed that the Town Hall location was the only option that would adequately cover the Town at 115 feet without relying on the owners of other cell towers to boost or change signal coming from those towers.
The Town has contracted with Datapath consultants to permit and construct the tower, and to negotiate with the major carriers to get their equipment installed on the tower.
Since Datapath had intended to build a plain monopole tower and the Town decided instead to go with the upgrade to a tree-concealment stealth tower, Town residents will be responsible for paying the difference in the cost, which could be up to $700,000.
