SARANAC LAKE — The Harrietstown council unanimously rejected a proposal from a company to build a Verizon tower near the summit of Dewey Mountain on Thursday.

Councilmembers said they did not get clear enough answers about the benefits to the community to warrant cutting through the trees and installing a tower at the town-owned Dewey Mountain cross-country ski area.

Last month, some board members had voted to continue talks with the company after its initial proposal. Others had bluntly said they did not want a cell tower on the mountain where people recreate.

Councilwoman Ashley Milne asked more questions of the company before this latest meeting, but felt they skirted the answers on several. She was not comfortable with the plans for the tower. The details were too scant and the aspects the town opposed were non-negotiable. The company told her there was no negotiation on the location of the tower.

Councilman Jeremy Evans was disappointed the company representative did not provide a clear answer on how the proposed tower would improve coverage. The company told them it was too early in the process, but he didn’t buy that.

The company, Saratoga Springs-based Airosmith Development, was requesting a 25-year lease from the town to build a tower to carry Verizon Wireless’ network. This lease was proposed at $1,200 a month, or $14,400 a year.

According to an email between an Airosmith representative and the town, the tower would provide Verizon service for 1.5 to 2 miles from the site. Adirondack Park Agency regulations limit the tower to be up to 10 to 15 feet above the tree line. The company had said they could “try to limit” the road’s interference with the recreation trails, but there would be some interference.

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Public opposition

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Thursday’s meeting was the town’s most well-attended meeting in a while, as several locals turned out to oppose the tower.

Scott Stoddard from the Dewey Mountain Friends group said he would be blunt and say the tower is a “bad idea.”

He felt the negative impacts of a tower there outweigh the positives. He hears the hum of the tower on Mount Pisgah when he hikes up to that summit.

Stoddard said the town and the friends group have worked hard on Dewey Mountain and he doesn’t want to spoil it.

Ben Watson, who lives on the east side of the mountain, previously lived on Pisgah. He said the experience living there when the tower was built “wasn’t pleasant.” He asked the board to not corrupt the “gem” of Dewey Mountain.

Town resident Joy Cranker asked the board to protect special places like Dewey. She said a cell tower would not enhance the mountain, but make it worse.

Town resident Steve Halasz, who coaches the youth ski league at the mountain, said the prospect was “incredibly unappealing” to him.

Skip Outcalt, who lives on the east side of the mountain and is the president of the Hawk Ridge Homeowners Association, said in his career at the APA he reviewed cell tower applications. He said the town should have more information before deciding on the tower, including the exact proposed location of it, if there can be a different access route, how high it will be and if the tower would need a light because of airport traffic to and from the Adirondack Regional Airport.

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Future discussion debated

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Councilmembers said the company is also approaching nearby private landowners to pitch a lease for the tower. Evans felt the company has made it clear — they plan to try to get a tower in that area regardless of if the town offers its land.

Evans felt the town should tell the company that if they exhaust all other options to build on the mountain, the town would be willing to reconsider the proposal — only if the tower is guaranteed to provide better coverage. Evans said cell coverage is a public safety issue. He said they could ask the company to allow other carriers — primarily broadband carriers — to colocate signals on the tower and get the “last mile” coverage.

He wondered if the town could leverage the project to benefit Dewey and get the company to build something for the town.

Other board members felt they did not want to reconsider the idea at all. Councilwoman Tracey Schrader said it’s not worth it on Dewey. She pointed out that this company is making the proposal to make money, not to do the town a favor.

Right now, Evans felt it was hard to justify with the lack of information they had.