City Council members denied a request to erect a 250-foot communication tower in downtown Gray at their monthly business meeting.
Mayor Pro Tem James Collins called the July 11 meeting to order. The monthly meeting usually held on the first Tuesday of the month had been postponed due to the Fourth of July holiday.
Collins presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Ed Barbee.
The first item of new business was a Planning and Zoning hearing pertaining to the communication tower. The company CitySwitch submitted the request in Item A to allow reduced setbacks on three sides for the self-supporting communication tower. The property is located across from 132 Atlanta Road and consists of 1.3 acres.
Item B of the request from CitySwitch asked for a conditional use to allow the tower.
The first speaker in favor of the request was Stanley Shepard with AT&T. Shepard said the telecommunications company would be a carrier using the tower. He basically said AT&T supported the request because the tower would allow better coverage for AT&T customers.
Shepard noted that the telecommunications company had spent $5 billion in Georgia over the past three years.
Attorney Ivy Cadle spoke for CitySwitch. He said the property in question was owned by Norfolk Southern Railway. He said the railroad company would also use the tower.
“Simply put, SBA has a monopoly on communications towers, and they need competition,” Cadle said.
The attorney said the cost to carriers would be more favorable, and it would benefit the community by providing better call service. He said the rent charged by SBA is 2-1/2 times what the rent would be on the new tower.
Cadle said he believed the company could meet the requirements with the exception of the landscaping. He said there was not room for the landscaping, but they planned to place a screen over the chain link fence.
“It’s physically possible to use the existing tower, but it is not economically feasible,” he said.
Councilman David Tufts said it sounded like the company’s bottom line was to save money.
“We’ve done a lot to make the city better. This seems to go against what we have been trying to accomplish,” he said.
Collins asked if anyone wanted to speak in opposition to the request, and James Nobles was the first to come forward. The speaker said he was representing several people who were opposed to the communications tower.
“It will be a monstrosity and will impact our historical resources,” Nobles stated.
He said the first impact would be to the Ocmulgee-Piedmont Scenic Byway in Jones County. The scenic byway route follows Highway 11, continuing north to Bradley, Wayside and Round Oak, where it intersects Round Oak-Juliette Road and proceeds through the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge to its terminus at the Ocmulgee River.
The scenic byway was designated by the Georgia Department of Transportation in 2006 and at the time was the ninth scenic byway in the state system. Currently it is one of 17 in the state of Georgia.
If placed at its proposed location, the 250-foot tower with its blinking red lights and chain-link fence would sit at the beginning of the byway.
Nobles said the communications tower would also adversely impact Roberts Dairy historic property that is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
“It would destroy the historic landscape,” he said.
The speaker went on to talk about safety concerns for the people living in the homes that would be located near the tower.
“An economic rationale is not a reason for rezoning,” Nobles said.
Malcom Smith said he lives across the street for the proposed location of the tower. His question was how many strobe lights would be on the tower. The answer to his question was there would be three blinking lights on the tower. Each would be located at different heights on the tower.
Smith said he felt the city was already cluttered with equipment.
“Gray is a beautiful little town. We need to keep it less cluttered,” he said. “The tower will be an eyesore.”
Christopher Johnson raised the issue of the proposed tower being redundant because of the existing tower. He was also alarmed about the possibility of additional radiation.
“The aim of government is to protect us. What is more important: money or life?” he asked.
Gray Downtown Development Authority Chairman Sherri Rollins presented the council a resolution from DDA members in opposition to the tower.
“I ask you to take our resolution under consideration. The scenic byway should be protected,” she said.
Cecil Ethridge spoke as the chairman of Gray’s Design Review Committee. He stated that the tower was too tall and would not be in compliance of the guidelines.
After council listened to the comments from both sides of the request, the public hearing was closed. Councilman Terry Favors made the motion to deny Item A of the zoning request.
The vote to deny the request was unanimous.
City Attorney John Newberrry asked Cadle if the company would like to withdraw Item B of the petition, which was a request for a conditional use to allow the tower, in light of the denial of Item A.
Cadle stated he would like the item to be withdrawn.
The remainder of the New Business items were all unanimously approved.
• July’s meeting of all committees rescheduled to Wednesday July 13 at 3 p.m.
• Assistant City Superintendent Cheyenne Morgan was appointed acting City Superintendent
• Resolution authorizing Mayor Ed Barbee to execute a credit application for credit cards for the City of Gray
• Quote from Bennett Heating and Air in the amount of $9,207 to replace a non-working air conditioning unit.
Collins asked for public comments. There were none, and the meeting was adjourned.
