BELLOWS FALLS — Interim Town Manager Francis “Dutch” Walsh is negotiating a contract with wireless communications company New Cellular Wireless PCS, LLC, d.b.a. AT&T Mobility, for 100 Pond Rd., a site located above the Minard's Pond reservoir on a hill to the east and across the Connecticut River from the Fall Mountain cellular and radio tower.
Walsh said the Village of Bellows Falls Corporation, whom he represents, has been in negotiations with AT&T for about four or five months to rent the site. “We haven't signed a contract yet, but we're close,” he said.
The Bellows Falls Village Corporation owns the land.
A balloon test was carried out July 8 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at a height of 110 feet. AT&T plans to file for a Certificate of Public Good from the state Department of Public Service.
A telephone number provided in their public legal notice that appeared in local newspapers offered only a message recording.
Only one of the residents in the vicinity of Pond Road had heard about the cell tower negotiations, and none had heard about the balloon test for where the proposed tower will be above the reservoir.
Katrina Masure, who lives in the first house below the reservoir, said she had no strong opinion.
“I just care how it looks,” she said.
Farther down the hill, John Marcley answered the door, and while he had not known of the plans or the balloon test either, said he hoped he and a visitor would get better cell service.
“It's 'limited' here. It depends on the [cell] company you have,” he said.
Across the street, Andrea Booth asked, “Isn't there one on the mountain just across the river? Why do they need another one here?”
Both Booth and her neighbor Lori Shaughnessy expressed their dislike of cell phones in general.
“I was rear-ended by a driver talking on his cell phone,” Booth said.
“My son uses one. I use mine only for emergencies,” Shaughnessy said. “I think they should ban texting altogether.”
She had a more visceral response to the cell tower itself: “I don't want one up there. It's an eyesore.”
Booth walks her dog up there every day. It's unclear if access would be restricted if current plans prevail.
Walsh said the company would expand some of the existing road, cutting through some brush to the site if the contract was accepted.
The revenue for the Village will be somewhere between $1,000 to $2,000 per month.
“On average, it's about a $1,500-a-month rental,” Walsh said.
Cell phone towers are going up all over New England, he said.
“They are making connections [cell towers] about every three miles - that's your average good coverage for a cell phone.”