~ SpeakOut
Proposed cell tower raises issues about historical area
Scott Bingham ASHBURNHAM

As a native of Ashburnham who lived in NYC for 14 years and then returned to my bucolic hometown 17 years ago, I shake my head in disbelief when I read stories and hear people talking about Nextel's proposed behemoth 150' wireless tower to be located at the town's most important intact historic site, the summit of Ashburnham's Meetinghouse Hill. Meetinghouse Hill is home to our original 1700s Town Common, ancient stone Cattle Pound, recently-restored Wellhouse and still-active Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery with headstones dating back to the 18th century.

I have a 36 year radio background, so I'm no stranger to the technical aspects of what Nextel is proposing. And in the interest of full disclosure, I am also the landlord of the Old County Road cell tower in town - just 1.8 miles away from the proposed Nextel site. To those pointing fingers and crying foul as to my true interest in this matter, please note that any possible income generated by Nextel co-locating on my tower would be negligible and therefore, creates little to no conflict of interest.

The majority of my concern is historical impact. Will Ashburnham sell out its past for what, in the big picture, are a few trinkets, in exchange for unproven/unsubstantiated increased radio coverage for our Police and Fire Departments?

Case in point, as a management consultant for local WINQ-FM in the 90s, when we tried to get better signal into Ashburnham with a powerful 3 kilowatt signal, it required such an increase in antenna height that it was cost prohibitive to do so. In other words, a couple of hundred feet made little difference in radio reception in the difficult terrain of Ashburnham.

So, with all due respect, I disagree with Ashburnham public safety officials' recent comments that a teeny 90' increase in height from the stated current 60' to a 150' tower will make any appreciable difference in public safety radio reception throughout town. Radio waves at cell phone frequency are "line of sight," meaning, if you can't see the tower, the radio signal doesn't go there.

To address public safety officials' concerns - the existing municipal tower on Meetinghouse Hill, which rises above the surrounding 50' treeline, is adequate when coupled with a more sophisticated public safety broadcast transmitter and antenna system. To quote an e-mail to me from the manager of Ashburnham Municipal Light Plant, "The very top antenna, which is the fire departments (sic) mutual aid antenna, is about 95'. We have been happy with the performance of the new system so far … higher would not hurt but we seem to be ok now. You may hear a different story from the fire and highway department, they used a less expensive radio system which I think they may be regretting."

Therefore, as an concerned citizen and a member of the citizens group that authored the town's current Wireless Communications By-Law, I would encourage opposition to the current Nextel Proposal for the following reasons:

1. A 150' Nextel tower on Meetinghouse Hill anywhere near our historic sites would be visually objectionable and offensive. This is where our veterans are honored every Memorial Day and residents are put to rest in the historic but still-active cemetery. In January 2007, the MA Historical Commission requested that Nextel create photosimulations of what their 150' tower would look like from key points on MHH in a season with bare trees. To the best of our knowledge, Nextel never complied. (Therefore, I created the photosimulations in early May before the leaves came out. See attachments.)

2. The Nextel facility would emit objectionable and offensive noise levels. Whenever the cooling equipment for the existing tower off Rte 101 and Old County Road activates, a sound like a super-loud ShopVac permeates the neighborhood - so much so that I have had comments and complaints in the recent months from those who live nearby.

3. The proposed Nextel facility violates our Wireless Communications By-Law by being sited less than the minimum 2.5 miles separation required. Although there is an exception to this article for camouflaged "stealth towers," it is legally arguable whether the 150' cell tower off Rte 101 in South Ashburnham can truly be defined as a stealth facility since it towers about 100' above treeline with a few scraggly faux white pine branches, making it look like a sequoia towering above the adjacent forest. Take a look from Overlook Middle School or Platts Road at the powerline crossing. Then visualize the same structure with all its multiple antenna arrays on top of 1,340 foot historic Meetinghouse Hill.

4. Nextel's proposal violates the word, intent and spirit of another portion of our Wireless By-Law as well. The bylaws were created specifically with the intent of encouraging and requiring co-location on existing towers first, to ensure that the town would not be overrun with unsightly radio spires. It also requires applicants for proposed facilities to prove beyond a doubt that, if they co-located on existing towers in and adjacent to town, that they could not achieve similar coverage.

If Nextel co-located on existing towers off Rte 101, South Ashburnham; Byfield Road in North Ashburnham; Bemis Road in Winchendon; and Kallinen Road in the eastern part of town, plus installed a stealth transmitter and antenna in Ashburnham's Town Hall cupola or in a downtown church steeple, could they not meet their coverage objectives? If not, it should be proven by a qualified radio engineer who has no affiliation with and has nothing to lose or to gain from future contracts or projects with Nextel or SBA Communications, the proposed builder of the tower.

5. Finally, the Balloon Height Test scheduled for Monday, July 16, between 8 a.m. and noon, appears suspect. Why schedule this test on a Monday morning when the maximum number of the town's citizens would be at work, and unavailable to participate? Why do this test in a season where leafy vegetation is at its most thick and verdant so as to camouflage the full impact of a tower here? I feel that it would be wise for Ashburnham's Zoning Board of Appeals and Historical Commission to require another balloon test after the leaves are off the trees on a late October weekend so that the maximum number of people can experience the impact this 150' tower monstrosity would have from adjacent historical areas as well as the Downtown Historic District, Cushing Academy, the Willard Road area and the highway approaches to town.

It's my hope that concerned citizens who care about Ashburnham's history attend the Nextel balloon test on Monday, July 16, from 8 a.m. and noon and make their voices heard at the upcoming ZBA meeting on Wednesday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the VMS Seniors Center. Hopefully, our town is listening.

Thank you for your ears.