ATKINSON — Selectmen are to decide on Monday night whether to allow the owner of the Hog Hill tower to add three antennas to the 160-foot structure.
Selectmen and the tower's owner, SBA Tower II, have met several times in recent months to discuss adding the three flush-mounted antennas.
Nearby residents who have attended three recent public hearings have received notification of this meeting but won't be allowed to speak.
"It's not a public hearing but it has the flavor of a public hearing," Selectman Bill Bennett said.
Since the last public hearing in September, selectmen have been reviewing documents on the tower from years past.
The tower's owners have been presenting similar proposals since 2006.
The latest is almost identical to the one denied a special exception by the Zoning Board of Adjustment in March 2007.
SBA Tower II challenged the decision by filing a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in September 2007, but a federal judge ruled a year later that it was up to selectmen to decide the case. The zoning board issued its decision when the 50-year-old tower was owned by Mariner Tower.
The three antennas are expected to improve T-Mobile's cell phone service in Atkinson, primarily near Route 121.
But there is still more information selectmen would like to see.
SBA Tower II has applied for a building permit to establish anchors for the guy lines needed to support the additional weight of the three antennas.
But so far, SBA Tower II has refused to pay for the town to hire an engineer to make sure the anchors would be able to handle the weight, Bennett said.
"They don't see why they should have to pony up $2,500," Bennett said.
Monday's meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
ÔÇæÔÇæÔÇæ
Join the discussion. To comment on stories and see what others are saying, log on to eagletribune.com.
