Reminder

The drone demonstration and related community gathering are rescheduled for January 8 with a second demonstration on January 13. The demonstrations will be at 3 p.m., specifically from 3:-3:20 p.m. with a ten-minute break to replace the battery pack, and then the drone will fly again from 3:30-3:50 p.m. The purpose of the demonstration is to visually demonstrate the actual height of the tower and the precise location for folks to view from all angles. The January 8 demonstration will be followed by a community gathering at 5 p.m. in Convocation Hall to share further details and to respond to questions.

Partnership

The University in partnership with Vogue Tower and Verizon is considering a new location for the proposed cell tower, which would be south of the Lake Cheston pavilion parking area off of Crosby Lane. (See map below). The purposes of the proposed tower are (1) to expand and improve cell service; and (2) to improve capacity for emergency communications on the Domain. The first provider on a new tower would be Verizon. The tower would also have the capacity to serve other providers, such as Sprint and T-Mobile.

Tower Details

The proposed tower would be 240 feet tall and self-sustaining (a three-sided structure), with an 80’x80’ fenced area and a narrow gravel access road leading to it. The tower would be lit with a dual lighting system, meaning a white light during the day and a red light at night, as required by Federal Aviation Association (FAA) regulations. Lights would be in two locations—at the top of the tower and about mid-way down the tower. The tower would be more than 600 feet from any leaseholder’s home, with significant tree cover between the tower and any residence.

Map

The map shows the newly proposed site in red with a yellow border. Previous sites are also included on the map in purple. Many of the previously considered sites have failed to provide adequate propagation (cell service coverage) either due to their locations or due to the FAA’s limitations on height given the tower’s proximity to the airport. The height limitation impacts the effectiveness of propagation.