1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,920
All

2
00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:13,679
[Music]

3
00:00:13,679 --> 00:00:14,880
right, we're going to go ahead and get

4
00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:16,800
started. Um, thank you everybody for

5
00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:18,640
coming. We obviously overprepared, but

6
00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:20,080
that was that's fine. I don't mind

7
00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:21,680
having extra copies for everybody. And

8
00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:23,760
then we will leave um the extras that

9
00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:25,920
are out there at uh town hall. Um, so

10
00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:27,119
you can let people know if they have

11
00:00:27,119 --> 00:00:28,560
questions or comments after the fact,

12
00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:30,080
they can just, um, stop by and leave

13
00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:32,079
them there. So, um, thank you all for

14
00:00:32,079 --> 00:00:33,760
coming tonight. My name is Mary Fitini

15
00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:35,360
and I am a member of the Rochester

16
00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,760
Planning and Zoning Board.

17
00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:38,879
I'm going to be starting with just a

18
00:00:38,879 --> 00:00:40,480
brief overview of sort of how tonight's

19
00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:42,160
going to run, what the point of tonight

20
00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:43,760
is as far as your planning board is

21
00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,640
concerned. I'm going to do a thousand

22
00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,879
foot view of the permitting process for

23
00:00:48,879 --> 00:00:50,160
cell phone towers in the state of

24
00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:52,239
Vermont. Um, then I'm going to turn it

25
00:00:52,239 --> 00:00:54,000
over to Francis Pissy who is here from

26
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,640
Vert.ex X Towers who is going to give um

27
00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,600
a presentation on some of the facts

28
00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,000
about this possible project. And there's

29
00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:03,280
a reason I'm calling it a possible

30
00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:04,960
project which is to say the application

31
00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:07,520
has not yet been submitted to the uh

32
00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,680
public utilities commission. Um so

33
00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:11,360
that's the reason that that is the very

34
00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:12,720
specific language that I'll be using

35
00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,040
tonight. Uh when Francis is done, we're

36
00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:16,560
going to open it up the floor to

37
00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:18,400
questions. Dan McKinley, everybody's

38
00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:19,600
favorite moderator, is going to be

39
00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,960
running that. Um, and we planned about

40
00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:24,560
40 minutes or more for that. And since

41
00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:26,159
we're a small group tonight, um, I'm

42
00:01:26,159 --> 00:01:28,000
hoping we can get through your questions

43
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:29,360
and time permitting, you know, we'll

44
00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,280
open up the floor to comments as well.

45
00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,720
So, um, this is a public information I

46
00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:36,159
wrote meeting. Let me emphasize that

47
00:01:36,159 --> 00:01:37,759
this is not a formal meeting. This is a

48
00:01:37,759 --> 00:01:40,159
public information session, uh, about

49
00:01:40,159 --> 00:01:42,640
the 248 permitting process for cell

50
00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:45,200
phone towers and the possible cell tower

51
00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,320
project um, at 10:30 10:30 Route 100

52
00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,159
South in Rochester. There are no

53
00:01:50,159 --> 00:01:52,479
decisions being made here tonight. And

54
00:01:52,479 --> 00:01:54,159
this meeting is specifically designed to

55
00:01:54,159 --> 00:01:56,320
do three things, right? It's so that we,

56
00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:57,759
your planning board, can give you some

57
00:01:57,759 --> 00:01:59,680
basic information about how cell phone

58
00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:01,759
towers are permitted. It's so that we

59
00:02:01,759 --> 00:02:03,439
can get some basic information about the

60
00:02:03,439 --> 00:02:06,320
possible project um from Vert.ex towers

61
00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,080
and to give you a chance to ask those

62
00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:09,840
questions either about the information

63
00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:11,599
we're presenting here tonight,

64
00:02:11,599 --> 00:02:13,280
information that is not presented that

65
00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,160
you would like us to get for and to you

66
00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:18,640
um or anything else um after we've

67
00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:20,400
covered that that you think um would be

68
00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:24,080
relevant. So um this is not the only

69
00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:26,319
chance you will have to learn about or

70
00:02:26,319 --> 00:02:28,239
talk about cell phone tower permitting

71
00:02:28,239 --> 00:02:30,640
in the town of Rochester. This is not

72
00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:32,879
the only chance. There will be many. Um,

73
00:02:32,879 --> 00:02:34,720
we are very committed as your planning

74
00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:36,879
board to hearing from as many people as

75
00:02:36,879 --> 00:02:39,599
possible in as many forums as possible

76
00:02:39,599 --> 00:02:41,360
at the moments when your contributions

77
00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,080
are most useful and effective for you.

78
00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:45,680
So, I just want to keep emphasizing

79
00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,239
that. Um,

80
00:02:48,239 --> 00:02:49,360
we will have a couple of people

81
00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:51,040
available via Zoom for some technical

82
00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:52,640
questions if they come up. We have two

83
00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:54,640
people from Two Rivers Aquichi Regional

84
00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:56,239
Planning Commission. We also have an

85
00:02:56,239 --> 00:02:58,480
engineer from Vert.Ex if your questions

86
00:02:58,480 --> 00:02:59,519
end up being a little bit more

87
00:02:59,519 --> 00:03:02,480
technical. So

88
00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,239
some of my logistics since we are

89
00:03:04,239 --> 00:03:08,319
smaller I can go I can skip ahead to um

90
00:03:08,319 --> 00:03:09,599
I do want you to know that we are trying

91
00:03:09,599 --> 00:03:11,599
to centralize the information so that

92
00:03:11,599 --> 00:03:13,440
you can go to one point and all of the

93
00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,200
documents will be there. We haven't got

94
00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,040
that set up quite yet but we have set up

95
00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:19,440
a separate email account for questions

96
00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:20,959
and comments about it. That's what's on

97
00:03:20,959 --> 00:03:23,120
your postcard which is rochestervt

98
00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,120
planning commission@gmail.com.

99
00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:26,640
Um, and that again is so that nothing

100
00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:28,080
kind of slips through the cracks, right?

101
00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:29,840
If you email or contact one of the

102
00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,400
planning board members individually, um,

103
00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,040
we talk a lot, but this way we make sure

104
00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:36,319
that everybody's getting the same

105
00:03:36,319 --> 00:03:40,480
information. So, thousand foot view. Um,

106
00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:42,799
yep, this is what I said. Oops, my

107
00:03:42,799 --> 00:03:48,390
slideshow is not there. There we go.

108
00:03:48,400 --> 00:04:05,270
Oh, no.

109
00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,319
There we go. Okay. This is basically

110
00:04:08,319 --> 00:04:11,360
just what I said, equal parts. Um, the

111
00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:12,560
information I'm giving to you is coming

112
00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:14,239
from a public guide that was pres uh

113
00:04:14,239 --> 00:04:15,760
published by the Vermont Public Service

114
00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:17,120
Department. This will be available to

115
00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:19,120
you. I am not a lawyer. I am not a

116
00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:20,720
planner. I am a member of the board and

117
00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,800
I am summarizing this public information

118
00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,600
to you as best we can.

119
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:27,360
Uh

120
00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:29,600
the town of Rochester does not permit,

121
00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,400
grant, deny cell phone towers. That is a

122
00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:34,400
power that is reserved to the state.

123
00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:36,479
Okay. The town of Rochester does not

124
00:04:36,479 --> 00:04:38,320
grant or deny them. There are specific

125
00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:40,320
ways and moments that we can participate

126
00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:42,639
in this process. But the decision for

127
00:04:42,639 --> 00:04:44,560
permitting uh towers is made by the

128
00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:47,600
public utilities commission. uh the PUC

129
00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,040
will grant or deny something called a

130
00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:50,960
certificate for public good. The

131
00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:52,479
department Vermont public service

132
00:04:52,479 --> 00:04:54,080
department will represent the public

133
00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,360
interest in such proceedings. Um and

134
00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:59,040
again I'm I'm going to come back to this

135
00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,520
because there is a role for the town but

136
00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:03,600
it can be most effective if we're clear

137
00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,919
about where we can speak, who we can

138
00:05:05,919 --> 00:05:07,360
speak to, and what it is that they wish

139
00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:08,960
to hear from us at any particular point

140
00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,120
in time.

141
00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:12,720
Um

142
00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:15,039
there's two phases to a permit. There's

143
00:05:15,039 --> 00:05:16,720
this the step one, right, which is

144
00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:18,639
submitting the application. Um, an

145
00:05:18,639 --> 00:05:20,320
applicant has to submit what's called a

146
00:05:20,320 --> 00:05:22,960
45day notice of intent to apply. They

147
00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:24,880
have to submit that notice to the public

148
00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:26,720
utilities commission, the department of

149
00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:28,400
public service, the host town, and the

150
00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,360
adjoining land owners. After they 45

151
00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:33,199
days or more after that, they submit an

152
00:05:33,199 --> 00:05:34,720
application to the public utilities

153
00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,039
commission and the PUC has to declare

154
00:05:37,039 --> 00:05:38,960
the application complete. All right,

155
00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,000
this is the first step. So far, we have

156
00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,639
received a 45 45day notice of an intent

157
00:05:44,639 --> 00:05:46,880
to apply from Vertex Towers for a

158
00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:48,880
possible project at 10:30 Route 100

159
00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,080
South. We received it on June 12th. That

160
00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:53,759
is the only thing that has happened so

161
00:05:53,759 --> 00:05:56,160
far. Okay. The application has not been

162
00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:57,600
submitted and therefore the Public

163
00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,479
Utilities Commission, excuse me, hasn't

164
00:06:00,479 --> 00:06:01,919
declared it complete because it doesn't

165
00:06:01,919 --> 00:06:04,400
exist yet.

166
00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,400
After the Public Utilities Commission

167
00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:08,240
declares a an application is complete,

168
00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:10,479
we enter the 30-day comment period.

169
00:06:10,479 --> 00:06:12,000
There's 30 days for parties,

170
00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:14,080
interveners, and individuals to submit

171
00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:15,600
comments to the Public Utilities

172
00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:17,520
Commission. The host town is

173
00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:19,759
automatically granted the right to uh

174
00:06:19,759 --> 00:06:22,160
submit these comments. I'll talk about

175
00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:24,639
that a little bit more in a second. Um

176
00:06:24,639 --> 00:06:26,639
after the application has been declared

177
00:06:26,639 --> 00:06:28,160
complete, the Public Utilities

178
00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,120
Commission has 60 to 180 days to issue a

179
00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,000
ruling. The reason I say 60 to 180 days

180
00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,240
is because uh it depends on whether or

181
00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,080
not the public utilities commission sees

182
00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,240
any significant issues with specific

183
00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,479
criteria. If they do not, they have to

184
00:06:42,479 --> 00:06:44,880
issue a ruling within 60 days. If they

185
00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,520
do, they can take up to 180 days to

186
00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,749
issue a ruling. Okay.

187
00:06:51,759 --> 00:06:53,840
There are three ways for towns to

188
00:06:53,840 --> 00:06:56,800
participate in the 248A process. they

189
00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,199
can have a public meeting

190
00:06:59,199 --> 00:07:01,120
uh where we request we can request a

191
00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:02,240
public meeting with the applicant and

192
00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,479
the public service department. This is

193
00:07:04,479 --> 00:07:06,160
actually the second time that we've

194
00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:07,840
asked somebody from Vertex to come and

195
00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:10,319
present. Um

196
00:07:10,319 --> 00:07:11,919
we did invite somebody from the public

197
00:07:11,919 --> 00:07:13,199
utilities commission tonight and they

198
00:07:13,199 --> 00:07:16,400
said that they were not going to um

199
00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:18,080
comment until the application had been

200
00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,560
filed. So that could very well happen

201
00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:22,560
again. Uh submitting comments. This is

202
00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:24,240
what happens during the 30-day comment

203
00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:26,000
period after the application has been

204
00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,400
declared complete. Uh we file them in

205
00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:30,479
writing. The public utilities commission

206
00:07:30,479 --> 00:07:33,120
has to give a detailed response to every

207
00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,199
recommendation that we submit also in

208
00:07:35,199 --> 00:07:37,120
writing. And then we can also

209
00:07:37,120 --> 00:07:38,880
participate as a formal party if the

210
00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:40,400
public utilities commission ends up

211
00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,800
having evidentiary hearings and things

212
00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,039
like that. Um the host town is already

213
00:07:45,039 --> 00:07:48,479
given the right to intervene um as the

214
00:07:48,479 --> 00:07:51,520
host town. Okay. So again, public

215
00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:52,720
meeting is the only thing that happens

216
00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:54,800
after the 45day notice. The comments and

217
00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:56,319
the intervention require the application

218
00:07:56,319 --> 00:08:01,189
to have been declared complete.

219
00:08:01,199 --> 00:08:02,800
Some things that the public utilities

220
00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:04,800
commission considers, and this is not an

221
00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,520
exhaustive list, uh will the project

222
00:08:07,520 --> 00:08:09,759
have what's called undue adverse effects

223
00:08:09,759 --> 00:08:12,240
on specific criteria? And I'll list

224
00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,720
those criteria in a minute. How will the

225
00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:16,960
project affect the land conservation

226
00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:19,199
measures in the plans of the affected

227
00:08:19,199 --> 00:08:21,120
municipalities?

228
00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:22,560
What are the recommendations that the

229
00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:24,560
town legislative bodies or town or

230
00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:26,400
regional planning commission submits in

231
00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,759
writing to the planning uh to the PUC?

232
00:08:29,759 --> 00:08:32,719
How does the project um service the

233
00:08:32,719 --> 00:08:35,120
public good or the state's interest as

234
00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,120
it's specifically articulated in a

235
00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,120
specific statute? And I'm not going to

236
00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:40,959
go into the statute tonight, but number

237
00:08:40,959 --> 00:08:42,880
four becomes very important in terms of

238
00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,760
thinking about how the state does or

239
00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:49,120
does not defer to town plans. Right? Um

240
00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:51,040
this question of what is the public good

241
00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:52,480
and what is the state's interest is

242
00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:53,760
something that the public utilities

243
00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:57,990
commission has to consider.

244
00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:00,720
Uh undue adverse effects.

245
00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:02,640
I'm not going into this in great detail.

246
00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:04,640
These are the categories um that the

247
00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:06,080
public utilities commission is looking

248
00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,320
at. If a project causes undue adverse

249
00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,480
effects to one of these categories, they

250
00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,080
can deny the permit. Okay. Um, we have

251
00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:15,519
more information about this. I can give

252
00:09:15,519 --> 00:09:16,880
you more information about this, but in

253
00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:18,880
general, this is something that the PUC

254
00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:20,800
itself is looking at. Aesthetics,

255
00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:23,360
historical sites, air and water purity,

256
00:09:23,360 --> 00:09:25,440
the natural environment, public health

257
00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:27,920
and safety, and the public use and

258
00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,320
enjoyment of the 89 and 91 scenic

259
00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:32,640
corridors and other highways designated

260
00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:37,829
um as scenic roads.

261
00:09:37,839 --> 00:09:38,959
You're probably going to get sick of

262
00:09:38,959 --> 00:09:40,560
hearing me say these words substantial

263
00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:42,399
difference and good cause, but they're

264
00:09:42,399 --> 00:09:43,600
I'm going to say them over and over

265
00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,160
again. So, town plans and town planners

266
00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,080
fit into this process in a very specific

267
00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,160
way. The public utilities commission

268
00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,000
must give what they call substantial

269
00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:54,000
difference to the land conservation

270
00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,160
measures in the plans of the affected

271
00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:58,480
municipalities and the recommendations

272
00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,040
of the municipal and regional plans

273
00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:03,200
unless they find there is good cause to

274
00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:05,600
find otherwise. Okay. So substantial

275
00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:07,519
difference, land conservation plans,

276
00:10:07,519 --> 00:10:08,880
recommendations, good cause, these

277
00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:12,000
things all matter.

278
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,480
So what does it mean? Substantial

279
00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:16,160
difference

280
00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,640
means they have to give significant and

281
00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:20,399
meaningful weight to the following

282
00:10:20,399 --> 00:10:22,560
things to the land conservation measures

283
00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:24,800
in the plans of affected municipalities.

284
00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:26,800
This is our town plan which I believe

285
00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:29,600
was most recently updated in 2020 and is

286
00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,079
available on the town website. They have

287
00:10:32,079 --> 00:10:33,839
to give substantial difference to the

288
00:10:33,839 --> 00:10:35,760
recommendations of municipal and

289
00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,720
regional planning commissions regarding

290
00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:40,560
the impact and the relationship between

291
00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:43,279
a possible project and our town plans.

292
00:10:43,279 --> 00:10:46,399
Okay. Um so they have to give

293
00:10:46,399 --> 00:10:48,480
significant and meaningful weight to

294
00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:51,920
town plans and what towns think the

295
00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,240
possible project how it fits into their

296
00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:56,560
town plans. But substantial difference

297
00:10:56,560 --> 00:10:59,279
is not it's a category, right? Unless

298
00:10:59,279 --> 00:11:01,120
there is good cause for them to find

299
00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:03,360
otherwise. And here's what it means to

300
00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,399
find otherwise. Right? If deferring to

301
00:11:06,399 --> 00:11:08,480
the land conservation measures in the

302
00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,120
plans of affected municipalities and the

303
00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:12,720
recommendations of the planning

304
00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:15,360
commissions would be detrimental to the

305
00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:18,079
public good or the state's interest as

306
00:11:18,079 --> 00:11:20,560
articulated in this specific statute.

307
00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:24,720
Okay. Um, so so they they have to

308
00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,240
substantially defer to town plans to

309
00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:29,839
recommendations by the town planning

310
00:11:29,839 --> 00:11:32,640
commissions, but they have to also weigh

311
00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:34,800
this question of the public good and the

312
00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:36,720
state's interest as it's defined in this

313
00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:38,880
statute.

314
00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,990
Um,

315
00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:43,279
there's a reason I call this the

316
00:11:43,279 --> 00:11:46,720
thousand foot view, right? Um,

317
00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:48,160
that is very much the thousand foot

318
00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:51,120
view. Um, but I think I find it

319
00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:52,800
important to understand how our process

320
00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:55,920
works in order to figure out where I fit

321
00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,160
into the process, how I can make my

322
00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,200
voice heard effectively. Um, and in so

323
00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,200
far as we are your planning board are

324
00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,279
doing that, we want to do that for you

325
00:12:05,279 --> 00:12:09,200
as well. So to sort of sum up my summary

326
00:12:09,200 --> 00:12:10,720
and this document will also be

327
00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:13,200
available. The state grants or denies

328
00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,200
permits to cell phone towers through the

329
00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,240
section 248A process. Rochester will not

330
00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:20,959
grant or deny the permit. There are

331
00:12:20,959 --> 00:12:23,440
specific steps in applying for a

332
00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:25,200
certificate of public good. The only

333
00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,360
step that has been taken so far was the

334
00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:30,160
45day notice of the attempt to apply.

335
00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,639
The application itself has not been

336
00:12:32,639 --> 00:12:35,200
filed um or declared complete. So the

337
00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:37,519
rest of that process, which can take up

338
00:12:37,519 --> 00:12:41,839
to 180 days, hasn't started yet.

339
00:12:41,839 --> 00:12:43,760
There are specific ways for the town to

340
00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,320
participate. They happen at specific

341
00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:47,920
points in the process and they cover

342
00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,800
specific information from the town to

343
00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:52,480
the state regarding our town and

344
00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,440
regional plans. And the public utilities

345
00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,480
commission considers many elements, but

346
00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,760
they are specific criteria,

347
00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:03,760
land conservation measures and town

348
00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:05,279
plans,

349
00:13:05,279 --> 00:13:07,519
recommendations by town and and regional

350
00:13:07,519 --> 00:13:09,839
planners, and this question about the

351
00:13:09,839 --> 00:13:11,600
public good and the state's interest.

352
00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,880
Okay. Um that's my thousand foot view.

353
00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:16,800
We do have somebody from um Two Rivers

354
00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:18,320
who will be here to answer questions if

355
00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:20,399
you have more specific things um when we

356
00:13:20,399 --> 00:13:22,320
at the end of the meeting. So thanks

357
00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:23,839
very much for your time and patience

358
00:13:23,839 --> 00:13:25,680
with my little PowerPoint and I'm going

359
00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:28,399
to hand it over to Francis who is going

360
00:13:28,399 --> 00:13:31,360
to present some um basically sub

361
00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:33,760
substantial information about uh the

362
00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:38,710
possible project.

363
00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:40,399
Provided I can get this to work the way

364
00:13:40,399 --> 00:13:42,399
I want.

365
00:13:42,399 --> 00:13:54,310
>> Give you this.

366
00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:56,480
» Are we gonna hold questions until

367
00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:59,199
>> I had Yes. And well, let me rephrase.

368
00:13:59,199 --> 00:14:03,120
Yes, that was my plan.

369
00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:08,310
>> But I

370
00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:21,430
to watch your feet.

371
00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,000
» Thanks.

372
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:25,920
>> Uh, good evening. My name is Francis

373
00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:28,079
Paresi. I'm a representative of Vertex

374
00:14:28,079 --> 00:14:30,560
Towers. Um

375
00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:32,000
I was actually here in front of the

376
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,320
planning commission back in early

377
00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:36,079
September and gave a similar

378
00:14:36,079 --> 00:14:37,839
presentation. So that for those of you

379
00:14:37,839 --> 00:14:39,440
that were here, a lot of this is

380
00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:40,880
duplicative, but I think there's some

381
00:14:40,880 --> 00:14:42,800
new people in the audience and um

382
00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:45,040
definitely some um questions with

383
00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,360
respect to the the type of facility that

384
00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:49,440
we're proposing. Uh, I actually thought

385
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,440
Mary did a great job of defining kind of

386
00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:53,600
the overview of the the permitting

387
00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:56,240
process and I'll kind of uh defer to

388
00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:58,240
Mary on that, but uh um but I thought

389
00:14:58,240 --> 00:14:59,680
she did a very good job of explaining

390
00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:02,480
it. Um, by way of introduction, Vertex

391
00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:04,079
Towers is what we call a wireless

392
00:15:04,079 --> 00:15:06,320
infrastructure developer. Um, the names

393
00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:07,920
that you've heard of in the cell phone

394
00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:11,360
arena, Verizon and AT&T and T-Mobile

395
00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:12,800
have pretty much gotten out of the real

396
00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:14,639
estate business. They're focused on

397
00:15:14,639 --> 00:15:16,079
developing their telecommunications

398
00:15:16,079 --> 00:15:17,920
networks and they partner up with folks

399
00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:19,519
like Vert.Ex to build wireless

400
00:15:19,519 --> 00:15:21,680
infrastructure. We're actually based in

401
00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,040
Massachusetts. We've done uh probably 30

402
00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,760
towers throughout Massachusetts and New

403
00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:31,279
Hampshire and Vermont. Um in areas as

404
00:15:31,279 --> 00:15:34,959
equally scenic and rural as as um

405
00:15:34,959 --> 00:15:37,680
Rochester. Um, and what we found is that

406
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:39,519
if we can be more thoughtful about where

407
00:15:39,519 --> 00:15:42,079
we place these type of facilities, where

408
00:15:42,079 --> 00:15:44,959
because we're not Verizon or not um,

409
00:15:44,959 --> 00:15:47,519
AT&T, we can look more closely at your

410
00:15:47,519 --> 00:15:50,240
land use, your um, zoning regulations,

411
00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:52,399
the PUC process, and come up with very

412
00:15:52,399 --> 00:15:54,240
thoughtful solutions. It's been very

413
00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:56,480
well received. In addition, it's a way

414
00:15:56,480 --> 00:15:59,199
of bringing telecommunications to rural

415
00:15:59,199 --> 00:16:02,160
areas like Rochester because, as you can

416
00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:04,720
imagine, somebody like Verizon is trying

417
00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:06,800
to f provide coverage to the entire

418
00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:08,880
United States, including Rochester,

419
00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:11,279
Vermont, and Montpelia, Vermont, and

420
00:16:11,279 --> 00:16:13,759
Boston, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma, and

421
00:16:13,759 --> 00:16:15,440
California. And it's just a real

422
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,519
challenge for them to get everywhere all

423
00:16:17,519 --> 00:16:18,959
at once and satisfy everyone's

424
00:16:18,959 --> 00:16:20,720
individual concerns. So, they partner

425
00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,120
with folks like Vert.Ex s to do like the

426
00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:24,880
infrastructure and the the the due

427
00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,360
diligence. Um in this particular case,

428
00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:29,040
we've already got a commitment from

429
00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:31,680
Verizon Wireless. They um they are very

430
00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:33,839
actively uh building out their network

431
00:16:33,839 --> 00:16:36,079
in Vermont. They have pretty good

432
00:16:36,079 --> 00:16:39,040
coverage along the I9089 corridor. Um

433
00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:41,680
but now they're focused on the uh Route

434
00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,320
100 corridor. Um there was recently a

435
00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,440
tower built in Stockbridge which Verizon

436
00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:48,959
has just installed their antennas but

437
00:16:48,959 --> 00:16:50,480
haven't turned them on yet. There's a

438
00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:52,800
tower in Granville that was built a

439
00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,240
couple years ago that uh uh was uh

440
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,560
Verizon is on that as well. There's

441
00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:00,800
towers along the Bethl and the Randolph

442
00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:03,040
and the 89 corridor on the other side of

443
00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,079
the hill between here and and 89, but uh

444
00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:07,919
um they're very actively trying to build

445
00:17:07,919 --> 00:17:09,679
out their network along the Route 100

446
00:17:09,679 --> 00:17:11,600
corridor and and have partnered up with

447
00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:14,559
Vert.Ex to find a solution in Rochester.

448
00:17:14,559 --> 00:17:17,520
Um I hope I don't need to sell cell

449
00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:19,839
phone coverage in general. The need is

450
00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:21,600
there. You know, the statistics are

451
00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:24,400
staggering. Over 50% of America has cut

452
00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:26,640
the cord is only using wireless phones

453
00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:28,799
as their only source of communications.

454
00:17:28,799 --> 00:17:31,120
80% of 911 calls are made by cell

455
00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:33,440
phones. And uh you know, there's clearly

456
00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:35,440
if if anyone's a Verizon customer, you

457
00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:36,880
can certainly attest to the fact that

458
00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,200
there's a gap in coverage here um with

459
00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:41,919
uh with telecommunications. We do a lot

460
00:17:41,919 --> 00:17:43,520
of work with regional planning

461
00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:44,880
commissions throughout all of New

462
00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,640
England including um um New Hampshire

463
00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:50,960
and New Hampshire has deemed the lack of

464
00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:52,799
cell phone coverage a public safety

465
00:17:52,799 --> 00:17:54,960
hazard. So when respect to the

466
00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,280
certificate of public good um you know

467
00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,360
it's actually really for easy for us to

468
00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:00,880
show that there is a public good because

469
00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:02,000
we're bringing better

470
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,840
telecommunications, a better u um public

471
00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,160
safety network, a better um

472
00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:10,480
telecommunications. What's happened too

473
00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:12,880
is that um we actually thought that this

474
00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:14,080
was going to be when I've been doing

475
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:16,160
this for about 20 or 25 years when I

476
00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:17,600
first started I thought it was a mobile

477
00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:18,960
technology where we're going to provide

478
00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,520
coverage up Route 89 and um you know

479
00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,360
maybe some of the tertiary roads but

480
00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:25,120
what's happening is it's evolving into a

481
00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:27,200
residential technology and people are

482
00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:28,960
using it in their homes as their primary

483
00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:30,799
source of telecommunications and over

484
00:18:30,799 --> 00:18:32,640
the last several years with the pandemic

485
00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:34,240
people are trying to work from home and

486
00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:35,919
educate from home and so better

487
00:18:35,919 --> 00:18:38,960
telecommunications networks are um are

488
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,480
just a necessity at this point. Um um

489
00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:44,080
Verizon has spent an immense amount of

490
00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,400
time exploring different options,

491
00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:50,640
looking at um um um um different

492
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,080
solutions to this. And as you can

493
00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:54,320
imagine, the Route 100 corridor is an

494
00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:56,000
incredibly challenging area given the

495
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,720
topography. You know, Route 100 and the

496
00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:00,799
town of Rochester is in a valley

497
00:19:00,799 --> 00:19:03,200
surrounded by very tall peaks and those

498
00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:04,880
peaks become structural impediments to

499
00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:06,720
telecommunication signal. So even though

500
00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:08,720
there's very good coverage on the other

501
00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,360
side in the Bethl and the Route 89

502
00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:14,320
corridor, there's uh a significant gap

503
00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:15,919
in coverage along the route 100

504
00:19:15,919 --> 00:19:19,520
corridor. Uh and we uh um we will

505
00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,520
provide all of this to the town as part

506
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,320
of the PUC application process. But this

507
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:26,400
basically shows all the different sites

508
00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:28,960
that Verizon already enjoys. you know,

509
00:19:28,960 --> 00:19:30,880
along Royaltton, there's a tower in

510
00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:32,240
Bethl, right as you get off the highway,

511
00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,120
just pretty close to downtown that uh um

512
00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:37,919
and then um several other sites going up

513
00:19:37,919 --> 00:19:41,200
into along the 89 corridor. But they

514
00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,840
actually have no sightes on the air um

515
00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:45,200
south of what I would call north

516
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,799
Granville and um up towards the um um

517
00:19:48,799 --> 00:19:51,039
the the Sugar Ski area. So, there's

518
00:19:51,039 --> 00:19:52,960
really no coverage along now. They've

519
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,120
gotten one tower that they just uh put

520
00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:56,559
the antennas on but haven't turned them

521
00:19:56,559 --> 00:19:59,520
on yet down um at the Stockfield

522
00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:02,080
Stockbridge Pittsfield line that'll

523
00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:03,919
provide some coverage coming up Route

524
00:20:03,919 --> 00:20:07,760
100 from Stockbridge into Rester.

525
00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:10,000
But we're trying to find a solution for

526
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:11,919
that, you know, very long stretch of

527
00:20:11,919 --> 00:20:14,400
Rochester from the Stockbridge line all

528
00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:20,160
the way going up into Hancock. Um um and we can look at this at at a

529
00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:22,080
unfortunately it gets very technical.

530
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,000
Verizon broadcasts at multiple different

531
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,200
frequency bands. Um, as we get more and

532
00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:29,840
more users of cell phone technology,

533
00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,240
they deploy multiple frequencies. Uh,

534
00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:33,760
you know, this was shown at the lower

535
00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:35,200
frequency bands. are some of the

536
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,760
historic um low band frequencies. And as

537
00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:39,520
you go up into the higher bands, 850

538
00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:42,960
meghertz, the the 1900 meghertz of what

539
00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:47,679
they call PCS, the the um the what

540
00:20:47,679 --> 00:20:49,200
happens is that you use higher

541
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,159
frequencies, the coverage gets less and

542
00:20:52,159 --> 00:20:54,080
less. So you want to try to get it as

543
00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:56,880
close to the residential and commercial

544
00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,679
and industrial users as possible without

545
00:20:59,679 --> 00:21:02,320
um getting too impactful for them to

546
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:04,000
take advantage of the higher frequency

547
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:07,280
bands and the uh um higher data speeds

548
00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:11,840
that come with that. Um and uh um so um

549
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:13,679
on behalf of Vertex and in partnership

550
00:21:13,679 --> 00:21:15,760
with Verizon, we've been looking for

551
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,400
solutions here and in more urban areas,

552
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,400
you have tall structures, water tanks,

553
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:22,159
church depotles. I know there's a church

554
00:21:22,159 --> 00:21:24,559
steeple in town that AT&T has antennas

555
00:21:24,559 --> 00:21:27,039
in, but as you can imagine, that's a I

556
00:21:27,039 --> 00:21:28,320
just looked at it. It's about a 30- foot

557
00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,000
tall church steeple. It wasn't designed

558
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:31,919
for telecommunications. It wasn't

559
00:21:31,919 --> 00:21:33,840
designed to get over the hills going

560
00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:35,919
just uh a quarter mile south, just past

561
00:21:35,919 --> 00:21:38,559
where we are right now. Um or even a

562
00:21:38,559 --> 00:21:40,799
quarter mile north. So, it it you know,

563
00:21:40,799 --> 00:21:43,200
AT&T enjoys a little bit of coverage

564
00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,360
along the um the what I would call the

565
00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:47,679
downtown Rochester area, but church

566
00:21:47,679 --> 00:21:48,880
steeples weren't designed with

567
00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:51,120
telecommunications in mind. they um they

568
00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:52,320
weren't designed for the type of

569
00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:54,559
antennas that multiple telecommunication

570
00:21:54,559 --> 00:21:58,880
companies enjoy or deploy for their u um

571
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,840
their network. So um although AT&T has a

572
00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:03,280
little bit of coverage downtown, Verizon

573
00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:04,880
has no coverage, T-Mobile has no

574
00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:06,080
coverage, and that's what we're trying

575
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:12,240
to find a solution to to resolve. Um the zoning map here actually allows

576
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,960
us to go anywhere in town. you know,

577
00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:16,400
there's some restrictions with respect

578
00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:18,960
to uh going too close to the river and

579
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,600
the uh the the resource areas down close

580
00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:23,520
to the river, but for the most part,

581
00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:25,919
we're in a a residential agricultural

582
00:22:25,919 --> 00:22:28,960
zone um which is a permitted zone under

583
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,360
the zoning bylaw. the zoning bylaw even

584
00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:33,360
though it's not applicable here because

585
00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:36,400
as Mary explained uh we are we follow

586
00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:38,960
the state PUC guidelines with respect to

587
00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:40,799
these things but the state actually

588
00:22:40,799 --> 00:22:42,880
looks to the town to say what does your

589
00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,440
zoning allow or not allow and this type

590
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:49,039
of facility is allowed in all um

591
00:22:49,039 --> 00:22:50,960
districts other than the flood overlay

592
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:52,400
district and the echo for recharge

593
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:53,840
district which are down closer to the

594
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,000
river um and the only requirement is

595
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,919
that we meet what they call um 150% % of

596
00:22:59,919 --> 00:23:02,480
tower height setback from all abuing

597
00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:06,240
property lines. So from so we look at it

598
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:08,240
it's compliant in all respects with your

599
00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:10,640
zoning bylaw even though and the PUC

600
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:12,400
will look at that as part of the the

601
00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:15,039
application process. Um the proposed

602
00:23:15,039 --> 00:23:18,000
facility is 1030 Route 10. It's a very

603
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,679
large I think it's 244 acres um with a

604
00:23:21,679 --> 00:23:24,480
little bit of frontage on Route 100, but

605
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,919
a substantial back lot um going way back

606
00:23:27,919 --> 00:23:31,360
um up uh u for those of you that don't

607
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:34,320
know it's on the as you're heading north

608
00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:37,280
on Route 100, it's on your right. Um uh

609
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,280
it's kind of um if you look for a

610
00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:40,799
landmark, this I believe this is called

611
00:23:40,799 --> 00:23:44,159
the um the garage road. Um, and so it's

612
00:23:44,159 --> 00:23:46,400
kind of uh straight opposite there,

613
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,720
right down where uh uh I there's a a

614
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:51,840
little store right here. I forget the

615
00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,080
name of it, but uh you can see it's kind

616
00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:55,600
of straight on there from the garage

617
00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,799
road looking up the hill. U so and it's

618
00:23:58,799 --> 00:24:01,600
um amply set back from all abuing

619
00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:05,120
properties. We have to be 150% um and

620
00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:08,159
we're uh substantially more than that

621
00:24:08,159 --> 00:24:11,279
from all abudding properties uh and and

622
00:24:11,279 --> 00:24:13,679
public rights away. We're about 2,000 ft

623
00:24:13,679 --> 00:24:17,520
off of Route 100. Um and and I think the

624
00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,080
closest property line is um over 300

625
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:22,159
feet away. So substantially more than

626
00:24:22,159 --> 00:24:24,080
the setback required by the zoning

627
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,360
bylaw. Um one one of the things we were

628
00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:30,480
here back in uh September and a lot of

629
00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,279
people expressed questions and concerns

630
00:24:33,279 --> 00:24:36,159
and in anticipation of that I uh I went

631
00:24:36,159 --> 00:24:38,720
back to the engineers and uh asked them

632
00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:40,799
you know can we tweak this at all? Can

633
00:24:40,799 --> 00:24:42,640
we be more thoughtful? Can we be more

634
00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,360
responsible to some of the town folks

635
00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:47,440
concerns? And two of the things that we

636
00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,799
came up with um to reduce to that we had

637
00:24:50,799 --> 00:24:52,400
originally proposed and the notice that

638
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:53,919
we provided the town said that we were

639
00:24:53,919 --> 00:24:56,480
going to build a tower that was 170 ft

640
00:24:56,480 --> 00:25:00,000
tall and um given some concerns by the

641
00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:03,039
uh people given the fact that AT&T

642
00:25:03,039 --> 00:25:04,480
already has a little bit of coverage in

643
00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:06,960
town. Um and even though we're trying to

644
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:08,720
build a a telecommunications facility

645
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:09,840
that accommodates multiple

646
00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,000
telecommunications providers including

647
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,240
Verizon, we've reduced the tower height

648
00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:16,799
to 140 ft. And so I think that's

649
00:25:16,799 --> 00:25:18,559
relevant because when we start looking

650
00:25:18,559 --> 00:25:20,640
at um some of the photos and the

651
00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:22,799
visibility, you'll see that that is a

652
00:25:22,799 --> 00:25:24,799
substantial concession from a visibility

653
00:25:24,799 --> 00:25:27,200
perspective to diminish the visibility

654
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,080
from um the Route 100 corridor and from

655
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:31,840
like where we are right now and closer

656
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:34,640
to downtown Rochester where the the the

657
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:43,279
common is in the library, but also uh um um reducing the impact on on um

658
00:25:43,279 --> 00:25:47,120
nearby residences. Um in addition um we

659
00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,679
did a standalone um this this type of

660
00:25:49,679 --> 00:25:53,200
facility will utilize an a very long

661
00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:54,720
existing

662
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:56,640
uh logging road that's already there. I

663
00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:58,080
have pictures if you want to see it.

664
00:25:58,080 --> 00:26:00,400
We're doing a very short extension uh in

665
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:02,960
our mind short about 500 ft from the end

666
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:05,360
of the existing logging road. And we

667
00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:07,760
were able to design that extension and

668
00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:10,240
the compound in such a way so that it

669
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:11,919
reduces the amount of permanent

670
00:26:11,919 --> 00:26:14,880
disturbance um which is a a technical

671
00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:18,240
term that uh the PUC uses to define the

672
00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:19,840
applicability and the scope of this

673
00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:24,159
project and also um uh uh eliminate the

674
00:26:24,159 --> 00:26:27,520
amount of imperous surface. Um we we

675
00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,840
don't uh these facilities once built are

676
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,240
very um dimminimous in nature. Even

677
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,400
though it's a 244 acre parcel, we're

678
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:37,600
only using about 3,000 square ft of that

679
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,240
for the compound. A 50 by 50, a little

680
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:42,400
bit of construction and some runoff

681
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,360
prevention, but uh from a a site

682
00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:47,200
disturbance perspective, it's quite

683
00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,679
dimminimous. And uh and one of the

684
00:26:49,679 --> 00:26:50,960
require one of the reason why we did

685
00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:54,000
that is because Mary didn't her in her

686
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,480
uh 10,00t overview, there's really two

687
00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,760
processes that the PUC looks at. If you

688
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,480
have a taller tower and a more

689
00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,640
substantial development, they give a

690
00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,039
full review, but uh they give a more

691
00:27:07,039 --> 00:27:08,880
limited review to sites that are what

692
00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:11,360
they call limited size and scope. And by

693
00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:13,360
redefining the height of the tower and

694
00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:16,720
by redefining the the the access and the

695
00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:18,559
uh amount of temporary disturbance that

696
00:27:18,559 --> 00:27:20,960
we're doing, um we we will we will meet

697
00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,600
the li the uh limitations of that

698
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,440
limited size and scope under the PUC

699
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:26,799
regulations. But I think it's relevant

700
00:27:26,799 --> 00:27:29,039
to the town because I just want to show

701
00:27:29,039 --> 00:27:31,039
uh um we're trying very hard to

702
00:27:31,039 --> 00:27:32,720
accommodate the town, accommodate area

703
00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:34,559
residents, but also accommodate the

704
00:27:34,559 --> 00:27:36,320
telecommunications signal because if we

705
00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:38,080
make it too short, then it doesn't get

706
00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:40,159
over the topography and the terrain to

707
00:27:40,159 --> 00:27:42,960
uh um satisfy the coverage objectives.

708
00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,760
So um and this was an issue for u that

709
00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:48,799
came up at the last um thing um the last

710
00:27:48,799 --> 00:27:50,880
public hearing that we had at the given

711
00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:53,279
that um because we were using an

712
00:27:53,279 --> 00:27:56,080
existing access road uh we had actually

713
00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:57,840
considered that permanent disturbance

714
00:27:57,840 --> 00:27:59,039
but when we look more into the

715
00:27:59,039 --> 00:28:02,240
regulations and using some construction

716
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,200
techniques um we're we're really just

717
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:07,120
utilizing an existing road and so that's

718
00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:08,640
a great advantage of town we're not

719
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:10,720
doing a lot of permanent disturbance to

720
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,039
build an access driveway and If you can

721
00:28:13,039 --> 00:28:15,039
imagine, your zoning by requires us to

722
00:28:15,039 --> 00:28:19,919
be 150% tower height setback. Um um um I

723
00:28:19,919 --> 00:28:21,679
don't and you guys don't want us to be

724
00:28:21,679 --> 00:28:24,000
down in the Route 100 corridor because

725
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:26,320
that would be way too visible from the

726
00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:28,720
100 corridor. So we got to be up away

727
00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:30,880
from the road and that requires us to go

728
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:32,960
up substantially up slopes and things,

729
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:36,000
but we're able to find a a lot that has

730
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,080
an existing logging road. So it it it

731
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:39,760
minimized the amount of permanent

732
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:43,279
disturbance that we do. it uh um we were

733
00:28:43,279 --> 00:28:45,760
able to um redesign the compound to make

734
00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:48,720
them more pvious so that really the

735
00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:52,559
total amount of um new impervious

736
00:28:52,559 --> 00:28:55,120
surface is only about a 1500 square ft.

737
00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:57,440
It's just a small equipment compound. Um

738
00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,520
and the uh total perimeter earth

739
00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:02,320
disturbance is under 10,000 square ft.

740
00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:06,240
Um um once we um and as Mary showed,

741
00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:07,760
there's a lot of criteria that we need

742
00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,320
to satisfy to um to get the certificate

743
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,399
of public good from the uh public

744
00:29:12,399 --> 00:29:14,720
utilities commission. But and once you

745
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:17,200
reduce the scope of it to its limited

746
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,440
scale and scope really what you just

747
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:20,640
have to make sure that you're not in a

748
00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:22,080
flood hazard area which we're nowhere

749
00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:23,760
near as you can imagine being up on that

750
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:25,679
high on the hill and that we don't have

751
00:29:25,679 --> 00:29:28,159
what Mary highlighted was the undue

752
00:29:28,159 --> 00:29:30,320
adverse impact on the scenic or natural

753
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:35,360
resources um uh and natural areas and we're very conscious of that. We

754
00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:37,120
understand that Route 100 is a scenic

755
00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:38,640
corridor. We also understand that

756
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:40,480
there's other cell towers already built

757
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:42,880
along the Route 100 corridor, but um

758
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:44,720
being respectful of that and being

759
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,279
conscious of that um we believe we've

760
00:29:47,279 --> 00:29:49,120
designed a facility that will not have

761
00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,000
an undue adverse impact on the on the

762
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,399
scenic beauty of the Route 100 corridor.

763
00:29:54,399 --> 00:29:56,480
Um like I said, the compound itself is

764
00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:58,640
really dimminimous. It's a three a 60x

765
00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,039
60 bench in compound which will have a

766
00:30:01,039 --> 00:30:03,679
small foundation for the tower itself

767
00:30:03,679 --> 00:30:06,320
and small equipment pads for initially

768
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:07,919
Verizon and then other

769
00:30:07,919 --> 00:30:10,240
telecommunications companies that'll uh

770
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,880
collocate on the future um you know so

771
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:14,799
from and given that the you know it's

772
00:30:14,799 --> 00:30:19,200
350 ft from the nearest uh property line

773
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:21,600
and thousands of feet from the nearest

774
00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:23,120
public rightway no one's going to see

775
00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:25,200
the compound itself or the electronic

776
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:28,399
equipment um once It's constructed. It's

777
00:30:28,399 --> 00:30:30,320
completely unmanned. There's no noise,

778
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,480
smoke, odors. Um there will be a small

779
00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:35,679
generator up there that is a third

780
00:30:35,679 --> 00:30:37,279
source of power. We'll bring primary

781
00:30:37,279 --> 00:30:40,000
power up there. We will bring um backup

782
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:41,840
batteries in case of a short-term power

783
00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:43,840
failure. And if there a long-term power

784
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:45,120
failure, there'll be a generator, but

785
00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:46,320
it's not something that's powered

786
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:47,840
primarily by generator. So, the

787
00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:51,360
generator runs only in the um uh event

788
00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:53,840
of a very long-term power failure. Um

789
00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:55,520
the tower itself is what we call a

790
00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:57,919
lattice tower. It's basically a giant

791
00:30:57,919 --> 00:31:01,039
erector set on which um um Verizon will

792
00:31:01,039 --> 00:31:02,640
attach antennas and then over time

793
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,000
multiple other telecommunications

794
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:05,840
companies will attach antennas. It's

795
00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:08,640
similar to other towers in the area. Um

796
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,399
we find that this um um erector set, you

797
00:31:12,399 --> 00:31:15,440
know, it's um when you look at it from a

798
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:17,360
distance, you actually can see through

799
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:21,120
it. So it actually provides a more um

800
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,320
unobtrusive um visibility from various

801
00:31:24,320 --> 00:31:26,399
vantage points. And this picture is

802
00:31:26,399 --> 00:31:27,760
significant because the picture that I

803
00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:29,679
showed at the last meeting showed 170

804
00:31:29,679 --> 00:31:33,200
foot tower, but again due to um attempts

805
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,159
to address towns folks concerns um we've

806
00:31:36,159 --> 00:31:39,279
reduced the height to 140 ft. U and

807
00:31:39,279 --> 00:31:41,840
everyone thinks that 140 ft you're going

808
00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:43,440
to see that all over town because that's

809
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:45,600
the tallest thing in town. But as you

810
00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,080
can imagine, when you're set back from

811
00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:50,000
abuing property lines by hundreds and

812
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,720
from the from route uh 100 by thousands

813
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:55,519
of feet and when you have a tree in your

814
00:31:55,519 --> 00:31:58,240
foreground, you know, you don't see 100.

815
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,640
No one's going to see 140 ft of tower.

816
00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:03,440
Um, I I can't make it invisible, but I

817
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:05,279
think it's you're going to uh find that

818
00:32:05,279 --> 00:32:07,760
it's going to be of minimal visibility,

819
00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:11,200
distant visibility, and and very short

820
00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:13,679
amounts of the tower and not the full

821
00:32:13,679 --> 00:32:18,000
140 ft. Um um with respect to public

822
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:20,559
safety, these are very lowowered

823
00:32:20,559 --> 00:32:23,519
transmissions. These are um um it's not

824
00:32:23,519 --> 00:32:25,519
designed to cover all of Vermont or even

825
00:32:25,519 --> 00:32:29,840
all the 100 corridor from Killington to Sugar Bush. It's really designed to

826
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:31,600
cover a couple square miles. And don't

827
00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:33,039
quote me on that because it's a very

828
00:32:33,039 --> 00:32:36,000
amorphous coverage objective, but uh and

829
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,080
as you can imagine, given the Route 100

830
00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:40,880
corridor, it's really a linear coverage

831
00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:43,919
objective as opposed to a a 360 degree

832
00:32:43,919 --> 00:32:46,880
coverage objective. But uh um these are

833
00:32:46,880 --> 00:32:49,200
designed to be well below Apple FCC

834
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,279
limits. And the reason is it's a two-way

835
00:32:51,279 --> 00:32:52,960
communication. Everyone has a cell

836
00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:54,960
phone. This is a low powered

837
00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:56,399
communication to the nearest cell phone

838
00:32:56,399 --> 00:32:58,320
tower which the nearest cell phone tower

839
00:32:58,320 --> 00:32:59,360
is on the other side of the hill in

840
00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:05,760
Bethl doesn't work but uh um but uh and so for that cell phone antenna to

841
00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:07,519
reach this it's an equally low powered

842
00:33:07,519 --> 00:33:09,679
and they broadcast out at about 100

843
00:33:09,679 --> 00:33:12,240
watts which is dimminimous as compared

844
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,559
to other forms of radio communications

845
00:33:14,559 --> 00:33:17,360
that we already enjoy. There are uh FM

846
00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:19,679
stations and AM stations in Burlington

847
00:33:19,679 --> 00:33:22,559
that broadcast out at 50,000 watts

848
00:33:22,559 --> 00:33:24,240
because they're trying to cover as large

849
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,600
a an area as possible. Whereas this type

850
00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:30,159
of technology is only designed to cover

851
00:33:30,159 --> 00:33:32,240
a stretch of Rochester going south

852
00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:33,840
towards Stockbridge and north towards

853
00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:36,799
Hancock. U and I'll also point out that

854
00:33:36,799 --> 00:33:39,200
from a radio frequency perspective, the

855
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,000
town already has AT&T antennas on a

856
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,480
30-foot church depot about three blocks

857
00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:46,480
from here. So, the downtown area gets

858
00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:48,159
some coverage, but it's also, you know,

859
00:33:48,159 --> 00:33:50,720
people have been living with that RF

860
00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:54,159
exposure harmlessly. Um, and you know,

861
00:33:54,159 --> 00:33:56,799
your zoning bylaw, Vermont law, state

862
00:33:56,799 --> 00:33:59,600
law says if there was any um tall

863
00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:01,440
structures that we could utilize, we

864
00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:03,440
would. And those tall structures tend to

865
00:34:03,440 --> 00:34:06,399
be in more habited areas. I I I actually

866
00:34:06,399 --> 00:34:09,599
go to a church that has a 150 church,

867
00:34:09,599 --> 00:34:11,919
150 foot steeple, and there's two it's

868
00:34:11,919 --> 00:34:14,240
the tallest thing in the area by far.

869
00:34:14,240 --> 00:34:16,000
and there are two sets of antennas in it

870
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:17,679
and I live in a much more dense village

871
00:34:17,679 --> 00:34:20,960
area similar to Rochester and we enjoy

872
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:22,320
good coverage because of that church

873
00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:24,399
steeple but because there's not a lot of

874
00:34:24,399 --> 00:34:28,399
um other tall structures uh in um

875
00:34:28,399 --> 00:34:30,560
Rochester we're forced to look at a new

876
00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:32,560
tower but we've set it back so

877
00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:34,320
substantially that it's going to be

878
00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:36,720
significantly below all applicable FCC

879
00:34:36,720 --> 00:34:38,639
limits with respect to radio frequency

880
00:34:38,639 --> 00:34:41,040
exposure and what we're anticipating is

881
00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:43,119
that we're going to get pretty decent

882
00:34:43,119 --> 00:34:46,320
coverage along the 100 corridor from the

883
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,119
uh um um Stockbridgeidge line going up

884
00:34:49,119 --> 00:34:50,960
all the way to the Hancock line. It's

885
00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:53,679
going to provide uh much um and and what

886
00:34:53,679 --> 00:34:56,000
these different colors represent is the

887
00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:58,720
different levels of coverage. As you can

888
00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:00,480
imagine, when you stand outdoors and use

889
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:02,320
your cell phone, there's no structural

890
00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:05,839
impediment as compared to in your car or

891
00:35:05,839 --> 00:35:07,760
in your residence or in a building like

892
00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:09,680
this where there's a a lot of structural

893
00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:11,839
impediment to the signal. And what this

894
00:35:11,839 --> 00:35:14,000
tells me is that in the downtown

895
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,560
Rochester area, we'll get very good

896
00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:18,880
inbuilding coverage um you know

897
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,280
throughout the entire what I would call

898
00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:24,800
populated area of Rochester from here um

899
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:28,000
north going past the bike shop and um um

900
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,800
and the village of Rochester. And then,

901
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:32,720
you know, you're going to get um decent

902
00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:35,520
coverage along the uh um the Route 100

903
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:37,599
corridor, all going up into Hancock,

904
00:35:37,599 --> 00:35:39,680
connecting up with sites that are being

905
00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:42,000
proposed in in Granville. And again,

906
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:43,680
this is all the different frequency

907
00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:47,119
bands that we um talked about easier. Um

908
00:35:47,119 --> 00:35:48,240
but everyone wants to know what's it

909
00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:50,160
going to look like. A year ago, we

910
00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:51,920
actually put a balloon up in the air as

911
00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:54,079
required by the public utilities

912
00:35:54,079 --> 00:35:58,160
commission application process to uh um

913
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:00,880
to put a balloon up in the air to 176 ft

914
00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:02,800
was which was the height of the old the

915
00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:04,800
formerly proposed tower and we took

916
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:06,800
pictures and I can show them to you

917
00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:08,240
tonight. I showed them at the last

918
00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:10,560
meeting, but I'm going to tell you as

919
00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:12,480
was requested by the the planning

920
00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:14,480
commission at the last meeting. Um,

921
00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:16,880
we've agreed to put up another balloon.

922
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,760
And this balloon will be up at 140 ft.

923
00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:22,880
And uh um and I'll I'll I'll let

924
00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:24,800
everybody know as best I can when it's

925
00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:26,079
going to be. We'll talk about it

926
00:36:26,079 --> 00:36:28,000
tonight. Uh and I think that's going to

927
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,240
be very telling because people are going

928
00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:32,000
to be able to stand in their own

929
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:33,839
residences or on their own properties

930
00:36:33,839 --> 00:36:35,599
and everyone think, "Oh my god, I'm

931
00:36:35,599 --> 00:36:37,040
going to see 140 foot thing from all

932
00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:38,240
over Rochester." But I think you're

933
00:36:38,240 --> 00:36:39,359
going to find that you're not going to

934
00:36:39,359 --> 00:36:41,359
see it because of the way the topography

935
00:36:41,359 --> 00:36:45,520
is, by the way canopy is. Um I um

936
00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:47,359
unfortunately I'm I'm struggling with

937
00:36:47,359 --> 00:36:48,880
dates. So that's what we'll talk about

938
00:36:48,880 --> 00:36:50,320
as part of this process. And the reason

939
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:51,359
I was struggling with dates is because

940
00:36:51,359 --> 00:36:53,520
we have an election in two weeks uh and

941
00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,400
then Veterans Day. And uh so I I don't

942
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,680
want to um um talk about a date yet, but

943
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:01,280
uh we'll talk about it before that the

944
00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:02,880
night is out. But the one thing I want

945
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,839
to jump to is u um the photos that we

946
00:37:05,839 --> 00:37:29,670
took of the 176T balloon.

947
00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:33,440
We engage engineers to um uh take these

948
00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:35,680
photos and they do very accurate um

949
00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:38,400
depictions. Um and what this represents

950
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:40,720
is a map of the town of Rochester, the

951
00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:42,560
star being where the proposed facility

952
00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:45,680
will be. And the red are photo places

953
00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:46,960
where they took photographs from,

954
00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:49,359
including the the closest places, you

955
00:37:49,359 --> 00:37:51,680
know, along Route 100 at the base of the

956
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:55,760
subject property. Um um and then um up

957
00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:57,119
here in the village and then farther

958
00:37:57,119 --> 00:37:59,359
south along Route 100 looking towards

959
00:37:59,359 --> 00:38:02,480
the facility. And the red spots means

960
00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:04,079
places where they took photographs. So

961
00:38:04,079 --> 00:38:06,640
we can scroll through that. Um there was

962
00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:09,119
no visibility. And as you can imagine,

963
00:38:09,119 --> 00:38:11,359
going west towards um Pittsfield,

964
00:38:11,359 --> 00:38:16,240
there's really um you know, given the way the roads flow, given the uh

965
00:38:16,240 --> 00:38:17,760
topography, you're not going to see it

966
00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:22,160
from the western um looking east. Um but

967
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:24,160
there was some spots, pockets of

968
00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:26,720
visibility from the village photos 8, 9,

969
00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:29,599
and 10. And then farther south looking

970
00:38:29,599 --> 00:38:32,560
north uh on Route 100 where that the big

971
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:35,119
farm is along the 100 corridor where

972
00:38:35,119 --> 00:38:37,839
there's no uh trees to to to mitigate

973
00:38:37,839 --> 00:38:39,280
the view. And so I'm just going to jump

974
00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:41,040
to those photos because what those what

975
00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,200
I actually have are simulations as to

976
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:45,440
what it's going to look like. Um so we

977
00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:48,079
took all these photographs here. U but

978
00:38:48,079 --> 00:38:50,160
I'm just going to jump to 8 n and 10

979
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:51,920
which were the three photos from

980
00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:56,550
Rochester Village.

981
00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:58,560
Um,

982
00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:02,160
and this is a picture shown from, I

983
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:04,079
guess, the library parking lot or across

984
00:39:04,079 --> 00:39:07,119
the street from the library by the uh um

985
00:39:07,119 --> 00:39:08,480
the residential building across the

986
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:10,720
street. And uh um you could just see the

987
00:39:10,720 --> 00:39:12,240
balloon over the trees, over the

988
00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:13,920
buildings there. And what this

989
00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:16,800
represents is a photo simulation of what

990
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:19,280
the tower is going to look like from um

991
00:39:19,280 --> 00:39:21,839
I'm thinking that's either the library

992
00:39:21,839 --> 00:39:23,440
parking lot or the library driveway

993
00:39:23,440 --> 00:39:25,760
right next to it. And uh uh and as you

994
00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:27,200
can see, it's just above the trees, just

995
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:29,680
above the tree canopy. What this photo

996
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:31,520
goes actually tells me too is that by

997
00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:34,720
reducing it down by to the uh 140 ft

998
00:39:34,720 --> 00:39:36,000
height, you're not going to see it at

999
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:39,280
all. And we will have um for the PUC and

1000
00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:42,160
for the town's view as well, um uh a

1001
00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:45,040
photo after the 140 foot balloon float

1002
00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:50,560
to to substantiate that. Um from um

1003
00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:52,400
where are we at here? Riverbrook Road.

1004
00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:56,079
Uh again, farther south looking farther

1005
00:39:56,079 --> 00:39:58,960
north looking south. Um you know, again,

1006
00:39:58,960 --> 00:40:00,880
you could see the the the balloon over

1007
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:04,320
the the tree canopy. And then um um

1008
00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:11,359
oops. Um and then uh where's this? Um

1009
00:40:11,359 --> 00:40:12,880
uh here.

1010
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:13,520
>> What's that?

1011
00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:14,000
>> It's here.

1012
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:15,200
>> Oh, right here. Yeah, exactly. Right

1013
00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:17,839
here. That's And then you know, you can

1014
00:40:17,839 --> 00:40:21,200
just see the balloon over the thing. And what this tells me, like like I

1015
00:40:21,200 --> 00:40:22,560
said, I don't want to rely on these

1016
00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:24,880
photos because when we submit new photos

1017
00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:27,599
for the 140 foot balloon, you'll see

1018
00:40:27,599 --> 00:40:28,880
that you're not going to see it from

1019
00:40:28,880 --> 00:40:31,040
here as well. Um and then the other

1020
00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:33,839
places u just jump to my map there where

1021
00:40:33,839 --> 00:40:36,160
there was some visibility u you know

1022
00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:38,400
about what what looks like to be about a

1023
00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:42,640
mile south looking north. Um so photos

1024
00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:44,320
12 and 13. So I'm just going to jump to

1025
00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:45,839
those.

1026
00:40:45,839 --> 00:40:48,240
Um

1027
00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:51,599
uh and and and you know um at this point

1028
00:40:51,599 --> 00:40:54,560
you're about I think you're about a mile

1029
00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:56,480
um south of the property looking north

1030
00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:57,920
and you can you could just see the

1031
00:40:57,920 --> 00:40:59,839
balloon over the uh the tops of the

1032
00:40:59,839 --> 00:41:03,520
trees and that's what it looks like um

1033
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:05,280
when we add when we built the tower and

1034
00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:06,960
add the antennas to it. And again, this

1035
00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:08,880
is another vantage point that I believe

1036
00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:12,079
that it will be much less visible with

1037
00:41:12,079 --> 00:41:14,720
the 140 foot tower because what I'm what

1038
00:41:14,720 --> 00:41:17,839
I can see there is about 20 to 30 ft of

1039
00:41:17,839 --> 00:41:20,000
tower. So, if we eliminate 20 ft of

1040
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:21,520
tower height, it's going to be virtually

1041
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:24,480
invisible on the horizon. And then u a

1042
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:27,200
little bit uh farther back um you know,

1043
00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:29,839
it's uh um it's there. And they actually

1044
00:41:29,839 --> 00:41:32,319
enlarge it, which no one ever sees. But

1045
00:41:32,319 --> 00:41:34,880
uh um

1046
00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:36,480
uh that tells me that you're seeing

1047
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:39,440
about 30 ft of tower. So uh again at

1048
00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:41,599
this vantage point, if we lower it down

1049
00:41:41,599 --> 00:41:45,119
from 175 to 140, it's going to be

1050
00:41:45,119 --> 00:41:46,640
virtually invisible. So I think we've

1051
00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:49,760
done um um a pretty good job of

1052
00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:51,520
addressing the town's concerns with

1053
00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:53,520
respect to visibility along the 100

1054
00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:56,560
corridor. Um

1055
00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:58,480
I just want to jump back to my other

1056
00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:12,550
presentation.

1057
00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:15,760
Um the one thing that Mary didn't talk

1058
00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:20,000
about as part of her um um presentation,

1059
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:22,560
she and she talked very um articulately

1060
00:42:22,560 --> 00:42:26,640
about the state law PU process. The

1061
00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:28,240
federal government is also very much

1062
00:42:28,240 --> 00:42:29,839
involved in wireless infrastructure

1063
00:42:29,839 --> 00:42:32,319
sighting. About 25 years ago at this

1064
00:42:32,319 --> 00:42:35,119
actually almost uh 30 years ago the the

1065
00:42:35,119 --> 00:42:36,880
federal government adopted very

1066
00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:41,040
comprehensive um guidelines and and

1067
00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:43,119
laws. And it really stem from the fact

1068
00:42:43,119 --> 00:42:45,920
that uh you know we had one telephone

1069
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:47,119
company back I don't want to sound like

1070
00:42:47,119 --> 00:42:48,560
my dad but back when I was a kid we only

1071
00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:50,960
had one telephone company AT&T. and they

1072
00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:54,319
broke up AT&T into multiple um

1073
00:42:54,319 --> 00:42:57,200
components and they um they gave out

1074
00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:00,160
multiple wireless licenses for the

1075
00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:02,720
purpose of promoting competition within

1076
00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:05,119
the telecommunications industry. Um and

1077
00:43:05,119 --> 00:43:07,040
at the same time the the federal

1078
00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:09,359
government adopted laws to encourage the

1079
00:43:09,359 --> 00:43:11,200
development of infrastructure. They

1080
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:12,960
recognized the great public benefit.

1081
00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:15,839
They recognized um the the safety

1082
00:43:15,839 --> 00:43:18,079
inherent in all of this and the and and

1083
00:43:18,079 --> 00:43:20,400
the uh the benefit to all of America,

1084
00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:22,240
but certainly Rochester and the rest of

1085
00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:25,920
Vermont. Um and it just basically says

1086
00:43:25,920 --> 00:43:29,599
um uh two things that towns can't have

1087
00:43:29,599 --> 00:43:31,200
the effect of prohibiting

1088
00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:33,760
telecommunications. You can't say no, we

1089
00:43:33,760 --> 00:43:35,359
don't want it anywhere in Rochester. We

1090
00:43:35,359 --> 00:43:37,520
don't want this technology. Uh you know,

1091
00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:39,359
you can be very thoughtful as Mary

1092
00:43:39,359 --> 00:43:40,720
explained. You know, you can make sure

1093
00:43:40,720 --> 00:43:42,880
it's consistent with your plan. you can

1094
00:43:42,880 --> 00:43:44,240
make sure it's consistent with your land

1095
00:43:44,240 --> 00:43:47,760
use regulations. Um, and and again, the

1096
00:43:47,760 --> 00:43:50,319
town doesn't actually issue the permit.

1097
00:43:50,319 --> 00:43:53,599
It just makes recommendations to the

1098
00:43:53,599 --> 00:43:55,440
public utilities commission who has

1099
00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:56,960
overriding authority to determine

1100
00:43:56,960 --> 00:43:59,200
whether or not it's in the public good.

1101
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:01,520
And you also can't say you can't uh

1102
00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:03,680
discriminate a bunch providers. And

1103
00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:05,520
that's actually relevant here. It's

1104
00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:06,960
never relevant in my world, but it's

1105
00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:08,720
actually relevant here in Rochester

1106
00:44:08,720 --> 00:44:10,480
because at the last meeting, everyone

1107
00:44:10,480 --> 00:44:13,040
said, "My AT&T phone works fine. I don't

1108
00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:14,880
need Verizon." But that's not what the

1109
00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:15,839
government's trying to do. The

1110
00:44:15,839 --> 00:44:17,040
government's trying to say, "We want

1111
00:44:17,040 --> 00:44:20,480
competition." Um um we also are work

1112
00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:23,040
with T-Mobile, another carrier that's uh

1113
00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:25,760
probably not that popular in Rochester,

1114
00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:27,760
Vermont, but they just put antennas on

1115
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:29,760
the Stockbridge tower. They're coming on

1116
00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:31,760
our tower as well, and they'll put

1117
00:44:31,760 --> 00:44:33,680
they'll go they're building out the 100

1118
00:44:33,680 --> 00:44:35,680
corridor as well. And that provides

1119
00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:38,960
another outlet for um consumers, you

1120
00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:41,440
know, uh uh uh um you know, so that you

1121
00:44:41,440 --> 00:44:47,359
have competition within the uh um the uh the telecommunications market. Um

1122
00:44:47,359 --> 00:44:51,760
and there's been an immense amount of um

1123
00:44:51,760 --> 00:44:54,000
discussion among courts and everything.

1124
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:57,359
you know um you know you um you can't

1125
00:44:57,359 --> 00:44:59,359
say we don't understand the health

1126
00:44:59,359 --> 00:45:01,119
effects of these type of facilities

1127
00:45:01,119 --> 00:45:03,040
therefore we don't want it because the

1128
00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:04,640
government has deemed this technology

1129
00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:08,319
safe um you uh you can't just you just

1130
00:45:08,319 --> 00:45:12,240
can't say no um you can say uh I'm sorry

1131
00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:15,839
you you you don't have to say yes you

1132
00:45:15,839 --> 00:45:18,000
but you can't say no without sufficient

1133
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:21,119
reason like for example um I'll tell you

1134
00:45:21,119 --> 00:45:23,520
the best place to to to put a tower

1135
00:45:23,520 --> 00:45:27,119
would probably be right around here,

1136
00:45:27,119 --> 00:45:29,200
right where all the users are. You know,

1137
00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:31,280
uh, all you know, I bet half the kids in

1138
00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:33,119
the elementary school have cell phones,

1139
00:45:33,119 --> 00:45:34,319
let alone the people that used to come

1140
00:45:34,319 --> 00:45:36,079
to the high school. All of you, the

1141
00:45:36,079 --> 00:45:39,440
population of Rochester is pretty, um,

1142
00:45:39,440 --> 00:45:42,079
uh, not compact, but there's a a density

1143
00:45:42,079 --> 00:45:45,119
here in the village. Uh, and um, but

1144
00:45:45,119 --> 00:45:46,400
that wouldn't be the most appropriate

1145
00:45:46,400 --> 00:45:48,079
place to put a tower from a land use or

1146
00:45:48,079 --> 00:45:51,040
a visibility perspective. So, um um you

1147
00:45:51,040 --> 00:45:52,960
know, they they they don't say you have

1148
00:45:52,960 --> 00:45:54,480
to say yes, but they they say you can't

1149
00:45:54,480 --> 00:45:58,480
say no without sufficient reason. Um so,

1150
00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:01,760
as Mary explained, we um this process is

1151
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,480
we file a notice with the town. The town

1152
00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:06,720
asked me to come. I spoke in September.

1153
00:46:06,720 --> 00:46:08,880
I'm here again. Happy to come further if

1154
00:46:08,880 --> 00:46:11,280
there more questions, but ultimately

1155
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:13,119
we'll be filing an application with the

1156
00:46:13,119 --> 00:46:14,880
public utilities commission. And then

1157
00:46:14,880 --> 00:46:16,960
that starts a clock with respect to the

1158
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:19,440
town. The town will have an opportunity

1159
00:46:19,440 --> 00:46:21,520
to comment. The town will have an

1160
00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:22,960
opportunity to express its opinions to

1161
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:24,880
the public utilities commission. Uh the

1162
00:46:24,880 --> 00:46:27,440
public as well will be able to express

1163
00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:29,680
their public opinion to public utilities

1164
00:46:29,680 --> 00:46:31,920
commission. Um we've gotten through the

1165
00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:35,599
process very successfully in other um um

1166
00:46:35,599 --> 00:46:38,000
other jurisdictions. I think the public

1167
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:39,760
utilities commission and the state of

1168
00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:42,880
Vermont recognize the need for the

1169
00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:44,720
technology. They just want to make sure

1170
00:46:44,720 --> 00:46:46,400
we've done our homework to make sure we

1171
00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:49,520
found an appropriate location and uh you

1172
00:46:49,520 --> 00:46:51,119
know something that does not have an

1173
00:46:51,119 --> 00:46:53,520
undue adverse impact with the scenic

1174
00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:56,000
resources and other um environmental

1175
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,480
concerns. So with that, I'd be happy to

1176
00:46:58,480 --> 00:46:59,920
answer questions. I think Mary wants me

1177
00:46:59,920 --> 00:47:02,160
to sit down uh or or the planning

1178
00:47:02,160 --> 00:47:03,599
commission has any questions.

1179
00:47:03,599 --> 00:47:05,680
>> Uh Dan's going to moderate a Q&A. So

1180
00:47:05,680 --> 00:47:06,800
>> Okay, perfect. You

1181
00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:08,720
>> chill out here and then if there's a

1182
00:47:08,720 --> 00:47:09,760
question, we'll hand you a mic.

1183
00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:13,680
>> I don't know. You might have to go back through your

1184
00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:15,440
slides at some point if folks have

1185
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:17,040
specific questions. So, I'm just gonna

1186
00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:21,440
sit here and call people or can folks

1187
00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:22,400
hear me? Okay.

1188
00:47:22,400 --> 00:47:23,920
>> Um,

1189
00:47:23,920 --> 00:47:25,520
actually, Dan, can you use a mic just

1190
00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:27,760
because it's running through Orca, so

1191
00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:29,760
have one share a mic? Yep.

1192
00:47:29,760 --> 00:47:31,200
>> All right.

1193
00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:33,119
>> Okay. Can you hear me right now?

1194
00:47:33,119 --> 00:47:35,200
>> All right. Great. Um, this is great.

1195
00:47:35,200 --> 00:47:37,040
turnout. We're going to have a lot

1196
00:47:37,040 --> 00:47:38,560
of questions, I'm sure. So, the way

1197
00:47:38,560 --> 00:47:40,560
we're going to work this is going to ask

1198
00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:42,640
you to just do one of your questions at

1199
00:47:42,640 --> 00:47:44,240
a time and we'll keep going around the

1200
00:47:44,240 --> 00:47:46,240
room till everyone has exhausted their

1201
00:47:46,240 --> 00:47:48,400
questions if if we have enough time to

1202
00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:50,480
do that. And if we've exhausted the

1203
00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:52,880
questions, then we'll get into hearing

1204
00:47:52,880 --> 00:47:55,440
about your thoughts on the project. Um,

1205
00:47:55,440 --> 00:47:56,880
>> a lot of people on Zoom.

1206
00:47:56,880 --> 00:48:00,800
>> Yes. Great. So maybe what we'll do is um

1207
00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:03,440
>> we'll do a we'll take a question from

1208
00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:04,880
the room and then we'll check and see if

1209
00:48:04,880 --> 00:48:07,119
there's a hand up in Zoom and then we'll

1210
00:48:07,119 --> 00:48:11,200
call on them. Um and we'll just uh give

1211
00:48:11,200 --> 00:48:13,359
hopefully everyone an opportunity to ask

1212
00:48:13,359 --> 00:48:17,920
their questions. Sound all right.

1213
00:48:17,920 --> 00:48:25,510
We'll start right here.

1214
00:48:25,520 --> 00:48:27,839
» Uh hello everyone. Excuse me. Uh Justin

1215
00:48:27,839 --> 00:48:30,240
Stober living out uh West Rochester and

1216
00:48:30,240 --> 00:48:31,680
uh thank you very much sir for coming

1217
00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:33,760
and we appreciate your presentation. Is

1218
00:48:33,760 --> 00:48:34,960
it possible that you could go through

1219
00:48:34,960 --> 00:48:36,720
your slide deck to show the coverage

1220
00:48:36,720 --> 00:48:38,880
area of the reduced height 140 foot

1221
00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:39,440
tower?

1222
00:48:39,440 --> 00:48:41,599
>> I don't have that yet but um

1223
00:48:41,599 --> 00:48:43,440
>> so there was one though that depicted

1224
00:48:43,440 --> 00:48:45,359
>> Yeah. Um I'm going to tell you what we

1225
00:48:45,359 --> 00:48:46,960
had what we had presented at the last

1226
00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:49,839
meeting was at the height of the taller

1227
00:48:49,839 --> 00:48:50,400
tower.

1228
00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:52,800
>> So this this is the 178 whatever point.

1229
00:48:52,800 --> 00:48:55,119
>> Yes. Uh, and I got to tell you, we will

1230
00:48:55,119 --> 00:48:56,400
produce that for the benefit of the town

1231
00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:58,960
of the PUC. I don't think it's going to

1232
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:01,839
change that dramatically. By reducing

1233
00:49:01,839 --> 00:49:04,880
the height, what you're actually doing

1234
00:49:04,880 --> 00:49:07,200
um um one of the things you got to look

1235
00:49:07,200 --> 00:49:11,280
at this is um um we call them vertical

1236
00:49:11,280 --> 00:49:13,680
totem poles. Verizon will put its

1237
00:49:13,680 --> 00:49:15,599
antennas at the top of the tower and

1238
00:49:15,599 --> 00:49:17,520
then we'll have space and structural

1239
00:49:17,520 --> 00:49:19,520
integrity for other telecommunications

1240
00:49:19,520 --> 00:49:23,200
companies, T-Mobile, AT&T, and there's

1241
00:49:23,200 --> 00:49:24,640
always talk about others coming in the

1242
00:49:24,640 --> 00:49:25,520
market. So, we don't want to be

1243
00:49:25,520 --> 00:49:27,359
shortsighted and design towers that are

1244
00:49:27,359 --> 00:49:30,079
too short. By reducing the height of the

1245
00:49:30,079 --> 00:49:34,559
tower, you're um um reducing the height

1246
00:49:34,559 --> 00:49:36,480
of the bottom antennas as well as the

1247
00:49:36,480 --> 00:49:39,040
top antennas. So, we don't anticipate

1248
00:49:39,040 --> 00:49:40,800
that there's going to be much change

1249
00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:42,640
with Verizon, but I I can certainly

1250
00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:44,640
provide that to you, but uh

1251
00:49:44,640 --> 00:49:46,640
>> well, and and the just the concern is

1252
00:49:46,640 --> 00:49:47,839
related, and I don't mean to have

1253
00:49:47,839 --> 00:49:49,280
repetitive questions, but the concerns

1254
00:49:49,280 --> 00:49:50,559
would be for the residents of West

1255
00:49:50,559 --> 00:49:53,760
Rochester. Uh which if we can get any

1256
00:49:53,760 --> 00:49:56,720
map, would be on the the very left edge

1257
00:49:56,720 --> 00:49:59,520
of this photograph. Uh, so any reduction

1258
00:49:59,520 --> 00:50:01,119
in height would potentially eliminate

1259
00:50:01,119 --> 00:50:02,720
coverage for several hundred town

1260
00:50:02,720 --> 00:50:05,119
residents that live west of town, which

1261
00:50:05,119 --> 00:50:08,079
I realize is probably not the Verizon or

1262
00:50:08,079 --> 00:50:10,079
any other telecommunications provider's

1263
00:50:10,079 --> 00:50:12,319
main focus is obviously the Ruben

1264
00:50:12,319 --> 00:50:13,920
corridor, but there's tremendous

1265
00:50:13,920 --> 00:50:16,960
potential to provide uh communication to

1266
00:50:16,960 --> 00:50:18,400
several hundred town residents that live

1267
00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:19,760
out the 73 corridor. Thank you.

1268
00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:22,720
>> Where where were you last month?

1269
00:50:22,720 --> 00:50:26,079
>> I'm I'm being facitious. Uh um

1270
00:50:26,079 --> 00:50:28,400
>> is this you'll have updated coverage

1271
00:50:28,400 --> 00:50:28,800
maps?

1272
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:29,520
>> Oh, absolutely. Yes.

1273
00:50:29,520 --> 00:50:30,720
>> And when when you submit your

1274
00:50:30,720 --> 00:50:31,359
application.

1275
00:50:31,359 --> 00:50:34,160
>> Absolutely. Yes.

1276
00:50:34,160 --> 00:50:37,119
>> Ask the question.

1277
00:50:37,119 --> 00:50:38,319
>> Thank you.

1278
00:50:38,319 --> 00:50:41,119
>> Lori, did you

1279
00:50:41,119 --> 00:50:41,920
>> raise my hand?

1280
00:50:41,920 --> 00:50:43,280
>> Oh, I thought you had it up the first

1281
00:50:43,280 --> 00:50:44,880
time.

1282
00:50:44,880 --> 00:50:55,030
>> Oh, Jerry, I'm sorry.

1283
00:50:55,040 --> 00:50:57,920
testing

1284
00:50:57,920 --> 00:51:01,599
>> Jon Rochester. Uh how wide will the uh

1285
00:51:01,599 --> 00:51:04,880
construction road be? And uh second

1286
00:51:04,880 --> 00:51:07,760
question is uh uh has your company ever

1287
00:51:07,760 --> 00:51:12,000
used helicopters to drop uh towers in to

1288
00:51:12,000 --> 00:51:14,260
reduce the impact on the landscape.

1289
00:51:14,260 --> 00:51:16,079
[Music]

1290
00:51:16,079 --> 00:51:18,319
>> Uh the first question, how road wide is

1291
00:51:18,319 --> 00:51:20,079
the access driveway? The existing

1292
00:51:20,079 --> 00:51:22,880
logging road is about 10 feet wide and

1293
00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:25,040
um I'm going to stop and I on the line

1294
00:51:25,040 --> 00:51:26,720
with us is Scott Adams who's a civil

1295
00:51:26,720 --> 00:51:28,640
engineer. If I say anything out of line

1296
00:51:28,640 --> 00:51:31,200
u make sure he can interrupt me. Um and

1297
00:51:31,200 --> 00:51:33,599
we might have to uh expand it a little

1298
00:51:33,599 --> 00:51:36,800
bit in places to uh facilitate bring up

1299
00:51:36,800 --> 00:51:39,280
utility access. But one of the reasons

1300
00:51:39,280 --> 00:51:41,200
why this particular site is immensely

1301
00:51:41,200 --> 00:51:43,440
attractive to us and the town of

1302
00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:45,599
Rochester is there's, you know, we're

1303
00:51:45,599 --> 00:51:47,839
about 2,2500

1304
00:51:47,839 --> 00:51:52,720
ft u meandering off of Route 100.

1305
00:51:52,720 --> 00:51:54,720
The vast majority of that already has an

1306
00:51:54,720 --> 00:51:57,359
existing logging road. So we don't need

1307
00:51:57,359 --> 00:52:00,000
to utilize helicopters because really

1308
00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:02,160
all we're doing is taking the existing

1309
00:52:02,160 --> 00:52:04,240
logging road and extending it about 500

1310
00:52:04,240 --> 00:52:06,800
ft to kind of the top of the hill to get

1311
00:52:06,800 --> 00:52:09,520
to a plateau where we can construct. So

1312
00:52:09,520 --> 00:52:12,160
from a um a disturbance perspective it's

1313
00:52:12,160 --> 00:52:14,880
dimminous. We have utilized helicopters,

1314
00:52:14,880 --> 00:52:17,680
but those tend to be on sites at the

1315
00:52:17,680 --> 00:52:21,599
very top of mountains which are far more

1316
00:52:21,599 --> 00:52:23,440
visible from a uh you know I think

1317
00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:27,040
there's one as you come up um 91 um just

1318
00:52:27,040 --> 00:52:31,359
past the uh Chester exit uh and uh um

1319
00:52:31,359 --> 00:52:32,800
there there's one that you see quite

1320
00:52:32,800 --> 00:52:34,559
prominently on the 91 corridor and

1321
00:52:34,559 --> 00:52:37,040
that's clear at the top of a mountain uh

1322
00:52:37,040 --> 00:52:39,520
and it far more visible but it was

1323
00:52:39,520 --> 00:52:44,319
designed for a different perspective to cover more along Route 100. I mean,

1324
00:52:44,319 --> 00:52:47,920
Route 91. Um, so we're trying to avoid

1325
00:52:47,920 --> 00:52:51,119
going on the tops of peaks to mitigate

1326
00:52:51,119 --> 00:52:52,240
the visual impact.

1327
00:52:52,240 --> 00:52:54,319
>> Scott Adams does want to add something.

1328
00:52:54,319 --> 00:52:56,319
>> Go ahead.

1329
00:52:56,319 --> 00:52:57,599
>> Oh, actually, no. I just wanted to make

1330
00:52:57,599 --> 00:52:59,200
sure I I was unmuted so I could answer

1331
00:52:59,200 --> 00:53:00,800
any questions should someone ask me one.

1332
00:53:00,800 --> 00:53:01,680
Okay. Okay. Thank you.

1333
00:53:01,680 --> 00:53:02,880
>> Thanks. Thank you, Scott.

1334
00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:04,720
>> So, the road won't be widened.

1335
00:53:04,720 --> 00:53:06,640
>> Yeah. No, it it in in at in a couple

1336
00:53:06,640 --> 00:53:08,960
spots it might be on a temporary basis

1337
00:53:08,960 --> 00:53:10,880
to facilitate um the construction of the

1338
00:53:10,880 --> 00:53:12,880
utility run, but we're also going to

1339
00:53:12,880 --> 00:53:15,200
deploy um originally we had talked about

1340
00:53:15,200 --> 00:53:18,079
putting um more permanent disturbance

1341
00:53:18,079 --> 00:53:20,720
down, meaning gravel and crushed stone.

1342
00:53:20,720 --> 00:53:23,440
Um but now we can utilize they're called

1343
00:53:23,440 --> 00:53:26,240
construction mats. Um really the access

1344
00:53:26,240 --> 00:53:29,440
driveway is only for construction. We

1345
00:53:29,440 --> 00:53:30,720
have to bring a tower up there. We have

1346
00:53:30,720 --> 00:53:32,000
to bring a crane up there. We have to

1347
00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:34,160
bring some concrete up there. Uh it's a

1348
00:53:34,160 --> 00:53:36,559
construction road after this. It's

1349
00:53:36,559 --> 00:53:38,640
unmanned. We don't plow it in the

1350
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:40,880
winter. If someone needs to get up there

1351
00:53:40,880 --> 00:53:44,559
um um they can uh in the winter time

1352
00:53:44,559 --> 00:53:46,880
they bring a snowmo vehicle. Uh in the

1353
00:53:46,880 --> 00:53:49,680
summertime they if after we eliminate

1354
00:53:49,680 --> 00:53:51,839
the construction match if they they can

1355
00:53:51,839 --> 00:53:53,599
bring all-terrain vehicles. So it it's

1356
00:53:53,599 --> 00:53:57,040
designed to be not passable and and it

1357
00:53:57,040 --> 00:53:59,440
will um

1358
00:53:59,440 --> 00:54:01,280
you know but like I said the majority of

1359
00:54:01,280 --> 00:54:03,520
it is an existing logging drive. So

1360
00:54:03,520 --> 00:54:06,319
without with u dimminimous amounts of

1361
00:54:06,319 --> 00:54:07,839
improvement to just facilitate

1362
00:54:07,839 --> 00:54:10,480
construction.

1363
00:54:10,480 --> 00:54:16,150
>> Any hands in the Zoom thoughts?

1364
00:54:16,160 --> 00:54:21,349
» Something went wrong. Please try again.

1365
00:54:21,359 --> 00:54:24,559
» Thanks Francis. So you said in this uh

1366
00:54:24,559 --> 00:54:26,160
in this meeting which is different than

1367
00:54:26,160 --> 00:54:28,319
the last meeting that um you're just

1368
00:54:28,319 --> 00:54:31,520
extending the logging road but there are

1369
00:54:31,520 --> 00:54:33,920
concrete trucks crane the crane heavy

1370
00:54:33,920 --> 00:54:36,240
equipment has to get up there. So

1371
00:54:36,240 --> 00:54:38,319
wouldn't a logging road have to be quite

1372
00:54:38,319 --> 00:54:43,040
a bit changed to get the that equipment

1373
00:54:43,040 --> 00:54:44,800
uh thousand vertical feet up the

1374
00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:45,680
mountain?

1375
00:54:45,680 --> 00:54:48,160
>> Uh I'm going to do two things. I'm going

1376
00:54:48,160 --> 00:54:50,079
to jump to the plans that show kind of

1377
00:54:50,079 --> 00:54:52,319
an overview of the road and I'm going to

1378
00:54:52,319 --> 00:55:05,670
ask Scott to answer that question. Um,

1379
00:55:05,680 --> 00:55:10,950
let me know when you're ready, friend.

1380
00:55:10,960 --> 00:55:16,470
» Scott, I have C1 shown on the screen.

1381
00:55:16,480 --> 00:55:18,160
» Okay. Yep. that. So that shows pretty

1382
00:55:18,160 --> 00:55:20,480
much the extent of the existing uh on

1383
00:55:20,480 --> 00:55:22,960
top of an auto photo. C2 may be a little

1384
00:55:22,960 --> 00:55:26,240
more valuable. May show more detail. The photo is with the photo in the

1385
00:55:26,240 --> 00:55:27,280
background. It's kind of hard for the

1386
00:55:27,280 --> 00:55:29,359
public to probably see it,

1387
00:55:29,359 --> 00:55:32,000
>> but that shows the the ex Yep. C2. So

1388
00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:34,240
that shows the extent of the existing uh

1389
00:55:34,240 --> 00:55:36,079
topography and the existing logging

1390
00:55:36,079 --> 00:55:37,760
trails. There's a pretty substantial

1391
00:55:37,760 --> 00:55:40,079
logging trail that extends to

1392
00:55:40,079 --> 00:55:42,240
approximately within about 400 ft of the

1393
00:55:42,240 --> 00:55:45,040
proposed compound. So that last 400 ft

1394
00:55:45,040 --> 00:55:46,160
would require a little bit more

1395
00:55:46,160 --> 00:55:47,599
improvement and that's what the plans

1396
00:55:47,599 --> 00:55:49,680
indicate that that that section of it

1397
00:55:49,680 --> 00:55:52,960
will receive um 6 to 8 in of crushed

1398
00:55:52,960 --> 00:55:54,559
stone, not gravel. So it's going to

1399
00:55:54,559 --> 00:55:56,319
remain a permeable surface and

1400
00:55:56,319 --> 00:55:58,799
infiltrate um as well as the compound

1401
00:55:58,799 --> 00:56:00,880
will be a crushed stone surface as well,

1402
00:56:00,880 --> 00:56:02,480
which will allow for infiltration

1403
00:56:02,480 --> 00:56:04,079
through the voids of the stone and into

1404
00:56:04,079 --> 00:56:06,240
the ground where it's intercepted. But

1405
00:56:06,240 --> 00:56:08,559
the vast majority of of the the trail is

1406
00:56:08,559 --> 00:56:12,319
existing. Um I believe it's over 75% is

1407
00:56:12,319 --> 00:56:14,240
existing. Um, so there will be a lot of

1408
00:56:14,240 --> 00:56:15,760
limming and things like that that will

1409
00:56:15,760 --> 00:56:18,079
occur. The extent of tree removal is

1410
00:56:18,079 --> 00:56:20,000
primarily to get the overhead utilities

1411
00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:22,000
up to the site. It's really just

1412
00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:24,000
clearing the tree, not trying to not,

1413
00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:25,520
and there are notes on the plans to say

1414
00:56:25,520 --> 00:56:28,000
this, to not clear the stumpings. You

1415
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:29,440
know, that's not our intention is to

1416
00:56:29,440 --> 00:56:30,720
clear the stumps for the for the

1417
00:56:30,720 --> 00:56:32,319
overhead operations. It's just to clear

1418
00:56:32,319 --> 00:56:34,000
the trees out of the way so that the

1419
00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:36,720
overhead wires can be installed uh to

1420
00:56:36,720 --> 00:56:40,079
service the site. The the path is quite

1421
00:56:40,079 --> 00:56:42,559
substantial. I know I sent photos to the

1422
00:56:42,559 --> 00:56:43,839
team. I don't believe I can share my

1423
00:56:43,839 --> 00:56:45,839
screen here now, but it's it's a pretty

1424
00:56:45,839 --> 00:56:47,920
substantial path majority of the way up

1425
00:56:47,920 --> 00:56:49,359
until the last, you know, few hundred

1426
00:56:49,359 --> 00:56:52,480
feet. Um, part of it is timing, right?

1427
00:56:52,480 --> 00:56:54,000
And that's why the, you know, timing of

1428
00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:56,000
the year when the work takes place. Um,

1429
00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:57,760
the extent of the amount of mats that'll

1430
00:56:57,760 --> 00:57:00,079
be required will vastly dispend depend

1431
00:57:00,079 --> 00:57:01,520
upon the amount of precipitation that

1432
00:57:01,520 --> 00:57:03,119
has been received in the months prior to

1433
00:57:03,119 --> 00:57:04,720
the to it getting constructed. So,

1434
00:57:04,720 --> 00:57:06,319
that's a little bit of a gray area that

1435
00:57:06,319 --> 00:57:07,680
the contractor is going to have to work

1436
00:57:07,680 --> 00:57:09,920
with. But um for instance, going through

1437
00:57:09,920 --> 00:57:11,359
the farmer's field, we really didn't

1438
00:57:11,359 --> 00:57:13,440
want to disturb his field and then have

1439
00:57:13,440 --> 00:57:15,280
to put it back and then once you try to

1440
00:57:15,280 --> 00:57:17,119
drive on it, the loom for the next year

1441
00:57:17,119 --> 00:57:18,720
is going to be soft and punky and you're

1442
00:57:18,720 --> 00:57:20,079
going to you you'll potentially make a

1443
00:57:20,079 --> 00:57:22,079
mess of his grass. So with the extent

1444
00:57:22,079 --> 00:57:23,359
there going through the field, we're

1445
00:57:23,359 --> 00:57:24,720
going to put down the mats. The

1446
00:57:24,720 --> 00:57:26,480
vehicular the construction vehicles will

1447
00:57:26,480 --> 00:57:28,079
drive over those mats to service the

1448
00:57:28,079 --> 00:57:30,240
site. And then once the site is built

1449
00:57:30,240 --> 00:57:31,680
and the site is we're going to kind of

1450
00:57:31,680 --> 00:57:34,000
think ahead and we're going to install

1451
00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:36,319
um more of the carrier equipment that

1452
00:57:36,319 --> 00:57:38,000
normally they would install up front on

1453
00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:39,839
the tower so that they don't need

1454
00:57:39,839 --> 00:57:42,400
cranes. Um self-support towers are

1455
00:57:42,400 --> 00:57:44,799
readily climbable and they'll be able to

1456
00:57:44,799 --> 00:57:46,480
use rigging and ropes to be able to

1457
00:57:46,480 --> 00:57:49,119
install their um remote radio heads and

1458
00:57:49,119 --> 00:57:51,280
their antennas. As part of the initial

1459
00:57:51,280 --> 00:57:52,559
tower installation, we're going to

1460
00:57:52,559 --> 00:57:54,960
propose to install their frames for

1461
00:57:54,960 --> 00:57:56,799
them. Um, so they'll already be

1462
00:57:56,799 --> 00:57:58,480
installed on the tower themselves and

1463
00:57:58,480 --> 00:58:00,240
make it easier for them and less con

1464
00:58:00,240 --> 00:58:02,000
less disruptive during construction of

1465
00:58:02,000 --> 00:58:03,839
their operations. That may could come a

1466
00:58:03,839 --> 00:58:06,880
year or two years later. Um,

1467
00:58:06,880 --> 00:58:08,559
so like I said, there'll be a lot of

1468
00:58:08,559 --> 00:58:10,000
limming and things like that to get it

1469
00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:11,280
through, but the path is quite

1470
00:58:11,280 --> 00:58:13,280
substantial now. It's 10 feet in some

1471
00:58:13,280 --> 00:58:15,839
areas it's 15t wide as it extends there

1472
00:58:15,839 --> 00:58:18,559
now. And and as the plans indicate, you

1473
00:58:18,559 --> 00:58:20,480
know, they it's basically an exempt

1474
00:58:20,480 --> 00:58:22,160
agricultural logging roads, you know,

1475
00:58:22,160 --> 00:58:24,720
that they could make minor improvements

1476
00:58:24,720 --> 00:58:26,559
to. It's going it's an existing logging

1477
00:58:26,559 --> 00:58:28,240
road now and agriculture road and it's

1478
00:58:28,240 --> 00:58:30,240
going to be that in the future. So those

1479
00:58:30,240 --> 00:58:33,839
uses are allowed um and it's going to be

1480
00:58:33,839 --> 00:58:39,109
continued to use for that purpose.

1481
00:58:39,119 --> 00:58:41,200
» Yeah, I have a question here. Question

1482
00:58:41,200 --> 00:58:44,309
on

1483
00:58:44,319 --> 00:58:47,680
» Regina Kil has a question.

1484
00:58:47,680 --> 00:58:53,440
>> Yes. Um hi, I own a house on Route 100.

1485
00:58:53,440 --> 00:58:55,920
I've owned it for the past 16 years.

1486
00:58:55,920 --> 00:58:58,400
It's at 791

1487
00:58:58,400 --> 00:59:01,200
Route 100 South. So, it's in in the

1488
00:59:01,200 --> 00:59:06,720
vicinity of this um project. And I'm I'm

1489
00:59:06,720 --> 00:59:09,119
obviously in Connecticut um where I

1490
00:59:09,119 --> 00:59:11,680
live. It's just a vacation house there.

1491
00:59:11,680 --> 00:59:14,480
So, I'm not able to attend in person and

1492
00:59:14,480 --> 00:59:18,079
I'm on Zoom. I have been unable to see

1493
00:59:18,079 --> 00:59:20,720
the screen as

1494
00:59:20,720 --> 00:59:26,079
uh the gentleman has been talking. the camera has been on his face and not

1495
00:59:26,079 --> 00:59:28,079
on the screen. So I have missed being

1496
00:59:28,079 --> 00:59:31,119
able to see anything um that he has

1497
00:59:31,119 --> 00:59:33,520
shown which I really would have liked to

1498
00:59:33,520 --> 00:59:36,240
have seen the screen and even now the

1499
00:59:36,240 --> 00:59:38,640
camera is a little further back but the

1500
00:59:38,640 --> 00:59:42,240
screen is so bright white that I as a

1501
00:59:42,240 --> 00:59:44,559
viewer we can't see what's on the

1502
00:59:44,559 --> 00:59:47,040
screen. So I that's just a comment and I

1503
00:59:47,040 --> 00:59:49,599
don't know if I could see the

1504
00:59:49,599 --> 00:59:51,599
presentation since you're recording it

1505
00:59:51,599 --> 00:59:54,000
if you'd be able to provide me with like

1506
00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:56,559
a way to see the recording. That's at a

1507
00:59:56,559 --> 00:59:59,760
later date.

1508
00:59:59,760 --> 01:00:02,640
>> Regina, I can actually I can actually

1509
01:00:02,640 --> 01:00:06,960
answer that. There we go. Um yes, we

1510
01:00:06,960 --> 01:00:09,119
will be a we will be able to provide you

1511
01:00:09,119 --> 01:00:13,270
with copies.

1512
01:00:13,280 --> 01:00:15,359
Hold it away. I did so much better with

1513
01:00:15,359 --> 01:00:19,280
that one. Okay. Um, yes, we are not able

1514
01:00:19,280 --> 01:00:23,280
to show you the

1515
01:00:23,280 --> 01:00:25,119
screen. Ah, we are not able to show you

1516
01:00:25,119 --> 01:00:27,280
the screen on Zoom. Um, we were not able

1517
01:00:27,280 --> 01:00:29,440
to get that set up for tonight. There is

1518
01:00:29,440 --> 01:00:31,599
a recording and we will be able to make

1519
01:00:31,599 --> 01:00:34,079
that available to you through Orca and

1520
01:00:34,079 --> 01:00:35,839
the documents that are presented tonight

1521
01:00:35,839 --> 01:00:39,200
will be available once uh, Vert.Ex makes

1522
01:00:39,200 --> 01:00:40,559
their submits their application to the

1523
01:00:40,559 --> 01:00:42,000
public utilities commission. All the

1524
01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:44,960
documents will be public. Um, so I will

1525
01:00:44,960 --> 01:00:47,920
um encourage you to um drop an email to

1526
01:00:47,920 --> 01:00:49,920
us at rochester planning

1527
01:00:49,920 --> 01:00:51,839
commissiongmail.com

1528
01:00:51,839 --> 01:00:53,839
and I can add you and anybody else to

1529
01:00:53,839 --> 01:00:55,680
the email list um to make sure you get

1530
01:00:55,680 --> 01:00:57,760
all the information.

1531
01:00:57,760 --> 01:00:59,920
>> Okay. I didn't get that email address.

1532
01:00:59,920 --> 01:01:03,760
I'd like to write that down. that how

1533
01:01:03,760 --> 01:01:05,839
what did and it you're

1534
01:01:05,839 --> 01:01:09,280
>> it's Rochester

1535
01:01:09,280 --> 01:01:11,680
v

1536
01:01:11,680 --> 01:01:19,750
planning commissiongmail.com.

1537
01:01:19,760 --> 01:01:22,000
» Okay. I would be very interested in

1538
01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:24,400
seeing it sounded like he was showing

1539
01:01:24,400 --> 01:01:28,319
photographs because I'm just from what

1540
01:01:28,319 --> 01:01:30,400
I've seen tonight I still don't know

1541
01:01:30,400 --> 01:01:33,359
exactly where this is planned for

1542
01:01:33,359 --> 01:01:35,119
because I've been unable to see any of

1543
01:01:35,119 --> 01:01:39,119
the photos as well.

1544
01:01:39,119 --> 01:01:40,240
>> Mary, if I could jump in.

1545
01:01:40,240 --> 01:01:40,720
>> You may.

1546
01:01:40,720 --> 01:01:44,000
>> I can email this presentation and the

1547
01:01:44,000 --> 01:01:47,520
photos and the plans. Um, recognizing

1548
01:01:47,520 --> 01:01:49,520
that it's all preliminary based on what

1549
01:01:49,520 --> 01:01:50,720
we've talked about tonight, but I can

1550
01:01:50,720 --> 01:01:52,880
email them to you tomorrow and then you

1551
01:01:52,880 --> 01:01:55,440
can put them on the website. I recognize

1552
01:01:55,440 --> 01:01:57,200
limitations, but I think she's asking

1553
01:01:57,200 --> 01:01:58,240
very legitimate questions.

1554
01:01:58,240 --> 01:02:02,470
>> Great.

1555
01:02:02,480 --> 01:02:03,680
» Thanks, Regina.

1556
01:02:03,680 --> 01:02:05,520
>> Thank you.

1557
01:02:05,520 --> 01:02:14,000
>> Alina, Harvey, Rochester.

1558
01:02:14,000 --> 01:02:17,760
Uh just couple questions. Uh in the

1559
01:02:17,760 --> 01:02:20,559
original plan submitted here, it shows

1560
01:02:20,559 --> 01:02:24,720
that the pad area, the enclosed area is

1561
01:02:24,720 --> 01:02:27,119
50 by 50, yet tonight in the

1562
01:02:27,119 --> 01:02:30,720
presentation it was 60 by 60. I'm

1563
01:02:30,720 --> 01:02:33,359
wondering why the change when the tower

1564
01:02:33,359 --> 01:02:38,319
is smaller. And I'm also wondering how

1565
01:02:38,319 --> 01:02:41,359
the construction

1566
01:02:41,359 --> 01:02:44,079
plans on dealing with the ledge in the

1567
01:02:44,079 --> 01:02:57,670
lock log road

1568
01:02:57,680 --> 01:02:58,400
» I think.

1569
01:02:58,400 --> 01:03:02,799
>> No. Um I um I believe that and Scott

1570
01:03:02,799 --> 01:03:04,960
interrupt me if I'm wrong. The compound

1571
01:03:04,960 --> 01:03:08,559
itself is 50 by 50. We fence in 50 by

1572
01:03:08,559 --> 01:03:10,960
50, but we sign a lease with the

1573
01:03:10,960 --> 01:03:14,400
landlord for 60 by 60 in order to have

1574
01:03:14,400 --> 01:03:17,599
areas outside the compound for utility

1575
01:03:17,599 --> 01:03:19,359
infrastructure or parking space and

1576
01:03:19,359 --> 01:03:22,000
things like that. So, the total limit of

1577
01:03:22,000 --> 01:03:25,599
clearing um was on that other sheet, but

1578
01:03:25,599 --> 01:03:31,029
it's a u it's about 3,000 square feet.

1579
01:03:31,039 --> 01:03:35,839
on a 244 acre parcel.

1580
01:03:35,839 --> 01:03:38,000
>> I understand. I'm intimately familiar

1581
01:03:38,000 --> 01:03:40,319
with

1582
01:03:40,319 --> 01:03:44,319
>> uh the question regards the

1583
01:03:44,319 --> 01:03:48,720
uh ledge on the access road.

1584
01:03:48,720 --> 01:03:52,000
>> How's that going to be dealt with?

1585
01:03:52,000 --> 01:03:54,960
>> We're not aware of any ledge now, but we

1586
01:03:54,960 --> 01:03:58,480
haven't done any geotechnical analysis.

1587
01:03:58,480 --> 01:04:02,160
What happens is after the PUC approves a

1588
01:04:02,160 --> 01:04:04,559
process, we do some preliminary

1589
01:04:04,559 --> 01:04:08,799
clearing, we um bring a geo tech rig up

1590
01:04:08,799 --> 01:04:11,839
to the top to determine what's exactly

1591
01:04:11,839 --> 01:04:13,920
at the base where the tower will be and

1592
01:04:13,920 --> 01:04:17,119
along the access road and uh um and

1593
01:04:17,119 --> 01:04:19,200
design a foundation very specific for

1594
01:04:19,200 --> 01:04:22,319
that. Um we're not anticipating ledge,

1595
01:04:22,319 --> 01:04:24,000
but

1596
01:04:24,000 --> 01:04:26,079
we're in Rochester, Vermont, so we have

1597
01:04:26,079 --> 01:04:29,920
no idea. and uh uh but um um you know

1598
01:04:29,920 --> 01:04:32,480
we've dealt with ledge previously in

1599
01:04:32,480 --> 01:04:35,760
many uh similar situations and they can

1600
01:04:35,760 --> 01:04:37,440
design a foundation very appropriate for

1601
01:04:37,440 --> 01:04:38,240
the ledge.

1602
01:04:38,240 --> 01:04:39,599
>> Okay. I'm not worried about the

1603
01:04:39,599 --> 01:04:42,000
foundation for the tower. I'm my concern

1604
01:04:42,000 --> 01:04:46,240
is on the log road. Uh how do you

1605
01:04:46,240 --> 01:04:52,069
normally deal with ledge in the roads?

1606
01:04:52,079 --> 01:04:53,359
» Scott, you want to try to answer that?

1607
01:04:53,359 --> 01:04:54,960
How do you deal with ledge on the

1608
01:04:54,960 --> 01:04:58,079
logging trail? So, as the way the trail

1609
01:04:58,079 --> 01:04:59,920
is now, we've literally driven up there

1610
01:04:59,920 --> 01:05:02,079
with our ATVs in our company survey

1611
01:05:02,079 --> 01:05:04,079
vehicle. So, we can drive up the trail

1612
01:05:04,079 --> 01:05:06,480
in its current state with with a

1613
01:05:06,480 --> 01:05:08,240
four-wheel drive vehicle as it stands.

1614
01:05:08,240 --> 01:05:09,839
It's not suitable for a passenger

1615
01:05:09,839 --> 01:05:11,520
vehicle, but it's suitable for

1616
01:05:11,520 --> 01:05:13,359
construction vehicles that would be

1617
01:05:13,359 --> 01:05:15,039
necessary for construction of the site.

1618
01:05:15,039 --> 01:05:16,480
They can access it the way it is right

1619
01:05:16,480 --> 01:05:19,200
now. There's no large outcrops of ledge

1620
01:05:19,200 --> 01:05:21,119
within

1621
01:05:21,119 --> 01:05:23,359
the logging road that would be an

1622
01:05:23,359 --> 01:05:24,880
impediment for the construction of this

1623
01:05:24,880 --> 01:05:26,960
site.

1624
01:05:26,960 --> 01:05:29,119
and you plan on taking concrete trucks

1625
01:05:29,119 --> 01:05:31,599
up this logging trail.

1626
01:05:31,599 --> 01:05:32,960
>> There's there's a lot of unique things.

1627
01:05:32,960 --> 01:05:34,880
I mean, sometimes they do small batches,

1628
01:05:34,880 --> 01:05:36,720
meaning they won't fill the the concrete

1629
01:05:36,720 --> 01:05:38,640
truck full. They'll do you they'll do it

1630
01:05:38,640 --> 01:05:41,359
in five yards. Um they've they've had

1631
01:05:41,359 --> 01:05:42,400
them in the past where they would

1632
01:05:42,400 --> 01:05:43,839
literally give it a tug with a

1633
01:05:43,839 --> 01:05:46,000
bulldozer. Like they the contractors are

1634
01:05:46,000 --> 01:05:47,760
very familiar with construction of rural

1635
01:05:47,760 --> 01:05:50,160
sites such as this. Um, I've been

1636
01:05:50,160 --> 01:05:51,680
involved with sites in the top of Mount

1637
01:05:51,680 --> 01:05:54,319
Washington, Sunday River, u, Bolton

1638
01:05:54,319 --> 01:05:57,039
Valley, Ski Resort. Um, we've done some

1639
01:05:57,039 --> 01:05:59,680
very difficult construction sites. It

1640
01:05:59,680 --> 01:06:01,280
gets done in a matter of a couple of

1641
01:06:01,280 --> 01:06:07,599
months and then it's built and the the natural topography will reveate

1642
01:06:07,599 --> 01:06:10,319
and go back to the way mother nature

1643
01:06:10,319 --> 01:06:11,599
intended, you know, once it's

1644
01:06:11,599 --> 01:06:14,319
constructed.

1645
01:06:14,319 --> 01:06:15,520
>> Okay. Thank you.

1646
01:06:15,520 --> 01:06:17,920
>> Yeah, these sites are unmanned. There's

1647
01:06:17,920 --> 01:06:19,520
no water sewer. There's no man

1648
01:06:19,520 --> 01:06:22,319
facilities. Um um they're all remotely

1649
01:06:22,319 --> 01:06:25,599
monitored um for security and and

1650
01:06:25,599 --> 01:06:28,240
electronic purposes. The the antennas

1651
01:06:28,240 --> 01:06:30,559
are actually getting smarter so that if

1652
01:06:30,559 --> 01:06:34,960
they ever had to tweak them, they have the ability to tweak them

1653
01:06:34,960 --> 01:06:37,839
remotely so that because of situations

1654
01:06:37,839 --> 01:06:40,880
like this uh u you know we've as Scott

1655
01:06:40,880 --> 01:06:43,680
mentioned built many equally if not way

1656
01:06:43,680 --> 01:06:45,680
more challenging terrain type

1657
01:06:45,680 --> 01:06:47,520
situations. The gentleman mentioned

1658
01:06:47,520 --> 01:06:49,520
helicopters. We've deployed them before.

1659
01:06:49,520 --> 01:06:51,599
We don't need to here, but we've

1660
01:06:51,599 --> 01:06:52,799
utilized that. And there are a lot of

1661
01:06:52,799 --> 01:06:54,960
sites built in in Vermont and New

1662
01:06:54,960 --> 01:06:57,039
Hampshire that are only helicopter

1663
01:06:57,039 --> 01:07:00,319
accessible. Uh and and no one goes there

1664
01:07:00,319 --> 01:07:02,720
because they work and they uh and if

1665
01:07:02,720 --> 01:07:05,440
they have to, they bring uh all train

1666
01:07:05,440 --> 01:07:08,960
type vehicles to get there.

1667
01:07:08,960 --> 01:07:10,319
>> Anybody on Zoom?

1668
01:07:10,319 --> 01:07:12,319
>> Not at the moment. Oh, what? Yes. Uh

1669
01:07:12,319 --> 01:07:16,319
yes, I do. Well, um Evelyn

1670
01:07:16,319 --> 01:07:22,950
You have to Evelyn, you need to unmute.

1671
01:07:22,960 --> 01:07:36,150
Evelyn, you're muted.

1672
01:07:36,160 --> 01:07:43,510
» We're still You're still muted.

1673
01:07:43,520 --> 01:07:45,200
for me. The system wasn't allowing me to

1674
01:07:45,200 --> 01:07:48,480
unmute. It had to be come from the host.

1675
01:07:48,480 --> 01:07:51,200
>> Yeah. Well, I'm ask Okay. Ask to unmute.

1676
01:07:51,200 --> 01:07:54,400
All right. I did. I asked to unmute. Uh

1677
01:07:54,400 --> 01:07:58,789
huh. Whoa.

1678
01:07:58,799 --> 01:08:00,240
» Okay. Is that right?

1679
01:08:00,240 --> 01:08:01,039
>> Yes.

1680
01:08:01,039 --> 01:08:03,359
>> Okay. Great. So, obviously the logging

1681
01:08:03,359 --> 01:08:05,599
roll that we're talking about is our

1682
01:08:05,599 --> 01:08:07,680
snowmobile trail

1683
01:08:07,680 --> 01:08:09,119
>> for a portion of it. For a portion of

1684
01:08:09,119 --> 01:08:09,760
it.

1685
01:08:09,760 --> 01:08:13,359
>> Yeah. Um, and so f how far away is the

1686
01:08:13,359 --> 01:08:15,920
site from the snowmobile trail?

1687
01:08:15,920 --> 01:08:17,600
>> It's quite far. It's from the from the

1688
01:08:17,600 --> 01:08:19,600
vast snowmobile trail that's on the vast

1689
01:08:19,600 --> 01:08:20,319
maps,

1690
01:08:20,319 --> 01:08:21,120
>> right?

1691
01:08:21,120 --> 01:08:24,960
>> Yes. It's it's probably 3,000

1692
01:08:24,960 --> 01:08:26,960
additional feet away from there.

1693
01:08:26,960 --> 01:08:27,920
>> Really?

1694
01:08:27,920 --> 01:08:29,679
>> Yeah. It's quite far.

1695
01:08:29,679 --> 01:08:31,520
>> What is the altitude of the site that

1696
01:08:31,520 --> 01:08:32,640
you've chosen?

1697
01:08:32,640 --> 01:08:37,679
>> The site is uh the altitude is 1,585T.

1698
01:08:37,679 --> 01:08:41,590
1,585.

1699
01:08:41,600 --> 01:08:45,279
Okay. All right.

1700
01:08:45,279 --> 01:08:47,839
Okay. I see it. Okay. I was just

1701
01:08:47,839 --> 01:08:50,080
wondering where it was on the map.

1702
01:08:50,080 --> 01:08:50,960
>> Absolutely.

1703
01:08:50,960 --> 01:08:55,910
>> All right. Thank you very much.

1704
01:08:55,920 --> 01:08:59,920
» Question back there.

1705
01:08:59,920 --> 01:09:03,440
>> Bruce Danick, North Holler Road. Um I'm

1706
01:09:03,440 --> 01:09:05,440
I apologize if this was answered

1707
01:09:05,440 --> 01:09:09,120
previously. Why is it that these uh

1708
01:09:09,120 --> 01:09:12,000
antennas are not going on one of the two

1709
01:09:12,000 --> 01:09:14,960
existing towers just south or north of

1710
01:09:14,960 --> 01:09:17,920
Rochester? And also there's antennas in

1711
01:09:17,920 --> 01:09:20,400
the church steeple here. Those all seem

1712
01:09:20,400 --> 01:09:22,719
like great existing infrastructure to

1713
01:09:22,719 --> 01:09:25,520
put more antennas on.

1714
01:09:25,520 --> 01:09:28,319
Thank you.

1715
01:09:28,319 --> 01:09:31,279
Uh the first question, um Verizon will

1716
01:09:31,279 --> 01:09:33,040
be putting Verizon has just recently put

1717
01:09:33,040 --> 01:09:35,839
antennas on the new tower in Stockbridge

1718
01:09:35,839 --> 01:09:39,199
and that's really designed to cover um

1719
01:09:39,199 --> 01:09:41,600
the the area from the Pittsfield

1720
01:09:41,600 --> 01:09:44,480
Stockbridge line to the Stockbridge uh

1721
01:09:44,480 --> 01:09:46,640
Rochester line. Uh and as you can

1722
01:09:46,640 --> 01:09:49,839
imagine, the the terrain here is so

1723
01:09:49,839 --> 01:09:52,319
dramatic that if you go a quarter mile

1724
01:09:52,319 --> 01:09:54,080
up the road, you're curving around a

1725
01:09:54,080 --> 01:09:58,080
bend. Uh and uh that tower in the in

1726
01:09:58,080 --> 01:10:00,800
Stockbridge is um there's something like

1727
01:10:00,800 --> 01:10:02,880
the Wild Fern Cafe or something like

1728
01:10:02,880 --> 01:10:04,719
that. It's behind there closer to

1729
01:10:04,719 --> 01:10:07,360
Pittsfield into Rochester, but Verizon's

1730
01:10:07,360 --> 01:10:10,880
going on that. Uh in addition, there's a

1731
01:10:10,880 --> 01:10:14,880
tower that was just built um Buts Hill

1732
01:10:14,880 --> 01:10:18,960
Road in Granville that Verizon is also

1733
01:10:18,960 --> 01:10:21,040
on. And there's another tower being

1734
01:10:21,040 --> 01:10:23,600
proposed on North Hollow Road in the

1735
01:10:23,600 --> 01:10:25,360
north end of Granville going up towards

1736
01:10:25,360 --> 01:10:27,600
Warren U that Verizon will be going on

1737
01:10:27,600 --> 01:10:30,000
as well. These aren't designed to cover

1738
01:10:30,000 --> 01:10:33,199
huge swats of area and in addition the

1739
01:10:33,199 --> 01:10:36,560
topography limits the the the ability as

1740
01:10:36,560 --> 01:10:40,320
well as uh regul FCC regulations with

1741
01:10:40,320 --> 01:10:43,440
respect to the power output. So you

1742
01:10:43,440 --> 01:10:45,600
can't just turn up the antennas at one

1743
01:10:45,600 --> 01:10:47,440
space to get more coverage. You're

1744
01:10:47,440 --> 01:10:49,440
limited by the power output. With

1745
01:10:49,440 --> 01:10:51,840
respect to the church steeple, AT&T

1746
01:10:51,840 --> 01:10:54,080
already has antennas in there. Verizon

1747
01:10:54,080 --> 01:10:55,280
looked at it too, but as you can

1748
01:10:55,280 --> 01:10:57,679
imagine, church steeples a 100 years ago

1749
01:10:57,679 --> 01:11:00,480
weren't designed with telecommunications

1750
01:11:00,480 --> 01:11:04,000
antennas in mind. Um, they uh they

1751
01:11:04,000 --> 01:11:05,840
generate a little bit of heat as all

1752
01:11:05,840 --> 01:11:09,280
electrical uh apparatus do. Um, where

1753
01:11:09,280 --> 01:11:12,000
the church steeple, it's unventilated

1754
01:11:12,000 --> 01:11:14,400
area where you put it on an antenna, a

1755
01:11:14,400 --> 01:11:16,560
tower 140 feet in the air, you don't

1756
01:11:16,560 --> 01:11:17,679
require ventilation because there's

1757
01:11:17,679 --> 01:11:19,520
plenty of natural ventilation. So,

1758
01:11:19,520 --> 01:11:24,560
there's just no room in the um um the

1759
01:11:24,560 --> 01:11:27,040
church people for more antennas. In

1760
01:11:27,040 --> 01:11:28,560
addition, there's not even enough room

1761
01:11:28,560 --> 01:11:32,000
for AT&T because what's happened over

1762
01:11:32,000 --> 01:11:35,280
time is uh we call them the antennas

1763
01:11:35,280 --> 01:11:37,040
have gotten smarter. there's more

1764
01:11:37,040 --> 01:11:38,640
electronics

1765
01:11:38,640 --> 01:11:41,440
um baked into the antennas and less

1766
01:11:41,440 --> 01:11:44,719
electronics at the base of the tower or

1767
01:11:44,719 --> 01:11:45,760
I'm not sure where they are at the

1768
01:11:45,760 --> 01:11:47,199
church table, maybe the basement of the

1769
01:11:47,199 --> 01:11:51,199
church. Uh and so th those antennas just

1770
01:11:51,199 --> 01:11:54,320
require more space and a confined area

1771
01:11:54,320 --> 01:11:57,120
like a churchle wasn't designed 100

1772
01:11:57,120 --> 01:11:58,880
years ago and it's not getting better

1773
01:11:58,880 --> 01:12:01,920
because of this the antennas. So, and so

1774
01:12:01,920 --> 01:12:05,760
that's why um we need a tower to and and

1775
01:12:05,760 --> 01:12:07,679
one of the benefits of a tower is that

1776
01:12:07,679 --> 01:12:11,920
it's uh um it's adaptable. Um you know,

1777
01:12:11,920 --> 01:12:14,960
you hear about 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, all the

1778
01:12:14,960 --> 01:12:17,120
different generations of technologies

1779
01:12:17,120 --> 01:12:20,159
that the type of tower and the structure

1780
01:12:20,159 --> 01:12:22,719
is adaptable to future technologies. Uh

1781
01:12:22,719 --> 01:12:25,360
so that in the event something happens

1782
01:12:25,360 --> 01:12:26,960
in the future, it's a lot easier

1783
01:12:26,960 --> 01:12:29,440
retrofitted. a ch a church people didn't

1784
01:12:29,440 --> 01:12:31,360
have room the first time no longer has

1785
01:12:31,360 --> 01:12:34,400
room now. So

1786
01:12:34,400 --> 01:12:41,110
>> anybody on

1787
01:12:41,120 --> 01:12:42,960
» uh one of the questions I have more for

1788
01:12:42,960 --> 01:12:46,719
the community is thinking about is this

1789
01:12:46,719 --> 01:12:50,000
technology actually outdated now? Should

1790
01:12:50,000 --> 01:12:51,920
we be holding off? We do have plenty of

1791
01:12:51,920 --> 01:12:55,040
cell service around because of Starlink,

1792
01:12:55,040 --> 01:12:57,040
other technologies,

1793
01:12:57,040 --> 01:13:00,159
uh, and before we'll create another

1794
01:13:00,159 --> 01:13:03,360
piece of equipment that may be outdated

1795
01:13:03,360 --> 01:13:05,760
before you even know it. So, it's

1796
01:13:05,760 --> 01:13:08,159
something that we should be looking at.

1797
01:13:08,159 --> 01:13:11,360
Uh, maybe this is uh, too quick to move

1798
01:13:11,360 --> 01:13:18,950
on this.

1799
01:13:18,960 --> 01:13:20,800
Uh, Kevin Guyger has something to say

1800
01:13:20,800 --> 01:13:28,630
about that. Hannah,

1801
01:13:28,640 --> 01:13:31,040
» hi Sandy, can you hear me?

1802
01:13:31,040 --> 01:13:32,400
>> We can.

1803
01:13:32,400 --> 01:13:34,159
>> Yeah. My my comment wasn't regarding

1804
01:13:34,159 --> 01:13:36,239
whether this technology is outdated or

1805
01:13:36,239 --> 01:13:39,760
not. I had other other comments.

1806
01:13:39,760 --> 01:13:41,280
So, I don't know if now's the time you

1807
01:13:41,280 --> 01:13:44,560
want any of that, but

1808
01:13:44,560 --> 01:13:46,719
>> we'll go. You have the floor.

1809
01:13:46,719 --> 01:13:51,679
>> Okay. Um and my understanding was this meeting wasn't to talk about merits

1810
01:13:51,679 --> 01:13:53,280
of the projects or demerits of the

1811
01:13:53,280 --> 01:13:58,960
projects. So I I won't get into that. I will just say issues that I have heard

1812
01:13:58,960 --> 01:14:01,600
and that we will raise in the future. Um

1813
01:14:01,600 --> 01:14:03,920
which is this this project will involve

1814
01:14:03,920 --> 01:14:06,000
significant tree cutting in our in our

1815
01:14:06,000 --> 01:14:08,640
opinion to put up poles and lines. Um

1816
01:14:08,640 --> 01:14:10,880
and that's going to be an issue. Uh

1817
01:14:10,880 --> 01:14:13,360
gravel roads are impervious surfaces for

1818
01:14:13,360 --> 01:14:15,760
Vermont storm water purposes. So despite

1819
01:14:15,760 --> 01:14:17,199
the gravel, they they don't really

1820
01:14:17,199 --> 01:14:20,640
behave that differently. Um and and we

1821
01:14:20,640 --> 01:14:22,400
will have some other concerns as well

1822
01:14:22,400 --> 01:14:28,149
about getting equipment up there, but I wanted to raise those.

1823
01:14:28,159 --> 01:14:29,920
So my understanding from speaking with

1824
01:14:29,920 --> 01:14:31,040
the the owner that's going to be

1825
01:14:31,040 --> 01:14:33,600
building the site is that uh the poles

1826
01:14:33,600 --> 01:14:36,239
will be private. Um he's intending for

1827
01:14:36,239 --> 01:14:37,440
the private poles. Yes, they'll need

1828
01:14:37,440 --> 01:14:38,560
electric service on it, but they're

1829
01:14:38,560 --> 01:14:39,760
intended to be privately maintained

1830
01:14:39,760 --> 01:14:42,080
poles. There will be no gravel used on

1831
01:14:42,080 --> 01:14:44,560
this site to be clear. um any access

1832
01:14:44,560 --> 01:14:46,640
road or or the compound itself is going

1833
01:14:46,640 --> 01:14:49,679
to be pvious crushed stone. It's kind of

1834
01:14:49,679 --> 01:14:53,120
a more innovative low impact uh proposal

1835
01:14:53,120 --> 01:14:55,760
that will allow infiltration and it

1836
01:14:55,760 --> 01:14:57,520
allow storage of any runoff from the

1837
01:14:57,520 --> 01:14:58,960
cabinets within the crush stone, the

1838
01:14:58,960 --> 01:15:01,120
voids of the crush stone to allow it to

1839
01:15:01,120 --> 01:15:03,760
uh basically it's about a 40% void ratio

1840
01:15:03,760 --> 01:15:05,120
and that water will be able to

1841
01:15:05,120 --> 01:15:07,679
infiltrate into the soil as it as it did

1842
01:15:07,679 --> 01:15:09,040
prior. There should actually be less

1843
01:15:09,040 --> 01:15:11,600
runoff from from this system than

1844
01:15:11,600 --> 01:15:13,600
pre-existing conditions. So there will

1845
01:15:13,600 --> 01:15:15,840
not be any gravel utilized even on the

1846
01:15:15,840 --> 01:15:17,679
access road. It'll be physically crushed

1847
01:15:17,679 --> 01:15:22,950
stone.

1848
01:15:22,960 --> 01:15:25,040
Um, I want to remind folks, uh, if you

1849
01:15:25,040 --> 01:15:27,360
please, uh, let us know your name when

1850
01:15:27,360 --> 01:15:30,239
you when you have a a question. And that

1851
01:15:30,239 --> 01:15:32,800
was, um, Kevin Guyer, you heard from the

1852
01:15:32,800 --> 01:15:36,000
regional planning commission just prior

1853
01:15:36,000 --> 01:15:44,950
talking about those those issues.

1854
01:15:44,960 --> 01:15:46,239
» Go ahead, Ben.

1855
01:15:46,239 --> 01:15:48,400
>> Thanks. Yeah, my question is actually

1856
01:15:48,400 --> 01:15:51,040
related to that the because the regional

1857
01:15:51,040 --> 01:15:55,199
plan um designates this as a highest

1858
01:15:55,199 --> 01:15:57,840
priority forest connectivity block this

1859
01:15:57,840 --> 01:16:00,480
area. It's also a deer wintering yard.

1860
01:16:00,480 --> 01:16:02,159
Um

1861
01:16:02,159 --> 01:16:05,679
my first question is what what have you

1862
01:16:05,679 --> 01:16:08,719
uh researched on that front and why is

1863
01:16:08,719 --> 01:16:12,000
this um acceptable in in those two

1864
01:16:12,000 --> 01:16:16,000
specifically called out designations?

1865
01:16:16,000 --> 01:16:17,760
Um,

1866
01:16:17,760 --> 01:16:21,760
two things. One, in addition to local

1867
01:16:21,760 --> 01:16:24,880
and state regulations, these facilities

1868
01:16:24,880 --> 01:16:27,440
are also heavily federally regulated as

1869
01:16:27,440 --> 01:16:31,120
well. The federal government um um

1870
01:16:31,120 --> 01:16:32,640
requires us to go through a very

1871
01:16:32,640 --> 01:16:35,600
extensive environmental analysis. It's

1872
01:16:35,600 --> 01:16:37,199
under the National Environmental Policy

1873
01:16:37,199 --> 01:16:39,520
Act, NEPA we call it, in our our world.

1874
01:16:39,520 --> 01:16:41,280
and it requires us to make sure that we

1875
01:16:41,280 --> 01:16:45,280
have no impact on um plant and wildlife

1876
01:16:45,280 --> 01:16:51,679
species. So, as part of this process, we do that. We contact the state and um

1877
01:16:51,679 --> 01:16:55,520
state databases and things like that. Um

1878
01:16:55,520 --> 01:16:57,280
we

1879
01:16:57,280 --> 01:16:58,080
don't have any

1880
01:16:58,080 --> 01:17:00,560
>> the mapping already shows these are

1881
01:17:00,560 --> 01:17:02,480
these have special resources on that

1882
01:17:02,480 --> 01:17:06,080
front. I understand that, but we're just required to make sure we

1883
01:17:06,080 --> 01:17:08,960
don't have an ad an undue adverse

1884
01:17:08,960 --> 01:17:12,880
impact. We're building a 60 by60

1885
01:17:12,880 --> 01:17:15,760
clearing, 3,000 ft clearing in the

1886
01:17:15,760 --> 01:17:19,440
middle of a 244 acre parcel. So, I

1887
01:17:19,440 --> 01:17:23,360
suspect that habitat is a vast majority.

1888
01:17:23,360 --> 01:17:25,840
So, we don't have a significant or an

1889
01:17:25,840 --> 01:17:28,880
undue adverse impact on that. um they're

1890
01:17:28,880 --> 01:17:30,960
really quite dimminimous when you look

1891
01:17:30,960 --> 01:17:33,520
at the volume of activity in the the

1892
01:17:33,520 --> 01:17:36,080
entire area. So, uh, but again, we need

1893
01:17:36,080 --> 01:17:36,800
to satisfy.

1894
01:17:36,800 --> 01:17:38,560
>> You're saying you don't have an adverse

1895
01:17:38,560 --> 01:17:41,199
impact. That study's been done. You How

1896
01:17:41,199 --> 01:17:42,800
do you How do you know that? I guess

1897
01:17:42,800 --> 01:17:43,920
you're saying you're you're saying

1898
01:17:43,920 --> 01:17:45,600
that's already a conclusion.

1899
01:17:45,600 --> 01:17:49,280
>> We just need to make sure that um we

1900
01:17:49,280 --> 01:17:52,320
satis what we look for is endangered

1901
01:17:52,320 --> 01:17:54,320
species and endangered plant species and

1902
01:17:54,320 --> 01:17:56,080
wildlife species and we need to make

1903
01:17:56,080 --> 01:17:58,480
sure we don't have an an an adverse

1904
01:17:58,480 --> 01:18:01,280
impact on that and we don't. So the fact

1905
01:18:01,280 --> 01:18:03,280
that there's deer in the area, there's

1906
01:18:03,280 --> 01:18:06,800
deer all over Rochester. So uh and we're

1907
01:18:06,800 --> 01:18:07,440
not completely

1908
01:18:07,440 --> 01:18:09,440
>> So on the on the endangered species

1909
01:18:09,440 --> 01:18:11,840
piece, which is one piece, what studies

1910
01:18:11,840 --> 01:18:13,600
have have been done to to allow you to

1911
01:18:13,600 --> 01:18:15,360
say that that you know you don't have an

1912
01:18:15,360 --> 01:18:18,239
adverse impact on endangered species

1913
01:18:18,239 --> 01:18:21,199
since you brought them up.

1914
01:18:21,199 --> 01:18:23,600
We don't have to do specific studies

1915
01:18:23,600 --> 01:18:27,600
because we look at it and the volume of

1916
01:18:27,600 --> 01:18:29,840
land that we're disturbing

1917
01:18:29,840 --> 01:18:31,920
to the size of the parcel to the area

1918
01:18:31,920 --> 01:18:34,480
within the habitat. Uh and again all

1919
01:18:34,480 --> 01:18:37,360
we're required to look at is whether or

1920
01:18:37,360 --> 01:18:39,280
not there's any endangered species and

1921
01:18:39,280 --> 01:18:47,110
endangered plant and wildlife species.

1922
01:18:47,120 --> 01:18:50,870
Anyone

1923
01:18:50,880 --> 01:18:51,520
on Zoom

1924
01:18:51,520 --> 01:18:53,120
>> on that front? I have another question,

1925
01:18:53,120 --> 01:18:54,719
but you said you said the best place to

1926
01:18:54,719 --> 01:18:56,560
put a tower would be close to where the

1927
01:18:56,560 --> 01:18:58,560
users are. I totally agree with you

1928
01:18:58,560 --> 01:19:00,320
rather than up on a mountain surrounded

1929
01:19:00,320 --> 01:19:03,920
by deer and bear and other animals that

1930
01:19:03,920 --> 01:19:05,920
aren't checking Facebook. Uh surrounded

1931
01:19:05,920 --> 01:19:08,560
by wilderness basically. What other

1932
01:19:08,560 --> 01:19:11,440
areas did you guys look carefully at at

1933
01:19:11,440 --> 01:19:14,239
putting a transmitter? What other sites?

1934
01:19:14,239 --> 01:19:15,760
Um,

1935
01:19:15,760 --> 01:19:18,640
I don't have specific locations, but

1936
01:19:18,640 --> 01:19:20,800
what we look at is topography and

1937
01:19:20,800 --> 01:19:24,960
terrain. Um, um, you know, uh, we we

1938
01:19:24,960 --> 01:19:27,840
look at a whole host of things. Uh,

1939
01:19:27,840 --> 01:19:29,440
somebody commented that we're taking

1940
01:19:29,440 --> 01:19:31,360
down trees. Well, I could put it in the

1941
01:19:31,360 --> 01:19:33,040
ball field behind the elementary school,

1942
01:19:33,040 --> 01:19:35,280
but I don't think that would be popular.

1943
01:19:35,280 --> 01:19:36,880
And I'm being facitious because we've

1944
01:19:36,880 --> 01:19:42,560
been doing this for a long time. Uh we look at things very um globally in

1945
01:19:42,560 --> 01:19:45,360
the sense that um we want to be close to

1946
01:19:45,360 --> 01:19:49,120
downtown Rochester, but my suspicion is that if we put it any closer to

1947
01:19:49,120 --> 01:19:51,040
downtown Rochester, we'd have more

1948
01:19:51,040 --> 01:19:52,960
public opposition. We want to be close

1949
01:19:52,960 --> 01:19:55,199
to the users, but at the same time not

1950
01:19:55,199 --> 01:19:57,920
have an undue adverse impact on the

1951
01:19:57,920 --> 01:19:59,679
residential uses in the area, on the

1952
01:19:59,679 --> 01:20:02,480
scenic highway. Uh and so we we looked

1953
01:20:02,480 --> 01:20:04,880
at a lot of different areas and I will

1954
01:20:04,880 --> 01:20:07,120
provide that information to the the

1955
01:20:07,120 --> 01:20:10,159
commission but uh at the same time uh

1956
01:20:10,159 --> 01:20:12,800
you know I think we found a site that

1957
01:20:12,800 --> 01:20:14,719
satisfies the PUC's requirement

1958
01:20:14,719 --> 01:20:17,520
satisfies the town zoning requirements

1959
01:20:17,520 --> 01:20:21,199
um and no one said during this process

1960
01:20:21,199 --> 01:20:23,440
and you're welcome to why don't you go

1961
01:20:23,440 --> 01:20:25,920
here because we'll look at that but uh

1962
01:20:25,920 --> 01:20:28,800
um we I think we have found a site that

1963
01:20:28,800 --> 01:20:32,480
complies with your zoning bylaw. for uh

1964
01:20:32,480 --> 01:20:35,199
for good effect and complies with PUC

1965
01:20:35,199 --> 01:20:37,440
regulations and satisfies the

1966
01:20:37,440 --> 01:20:38,880
telecommunications and coverage

1967
01:20:38,880 --> 01:20:40,239
objectives which is really

1968
01:20:40,239 --> 01:20:42,159
>> but it conflicts with the town plan in

1969
01:20:42,159 --> 01:20:43,840
like 20 different bullet points and the

1970
01:20:43,840 --> 01:20:46,480
town plan calls out the north hollow the

1971
01:20:46,480 --> 01:20:49,600
scenic route 100 corridor Bethl Mountain

1972
01:20:49,600 --> 01:20:52,320
the village and other view sheds which

1973
01:20:52,320 --> 01:20:54,400
this will be highly visible from like

1974
01:20:54,400 --> 01:20:56,480
your the balloon test was all from the

1975
01:20:56,480 --> 01:20:58,480
valley floor none of it was from the

1976
01:20:58,480 --> 01:21:00,480
north hollow the north hollow In most of

1977
01:21:00,480 --> 01:21:02,960
the North Hollow, you'll see at a level

1978
01:21:02,960 --> 01:21:04,880
at a similar level, like you made that

1979
01:21:04,880 --> 01:21:06,320
good point, when you're looking up, you

1980
01:21:06,320 --> 01:21:08,480
won't see the whole tower um above the

1981
01:21:08,480 --> 01:21:10,080
canopy, but in the North Hollow, you you

1982
01:21:10,080 --> 01:21:11,600
will see most of the tower that's above

1983
01:21:11,600 --> 01:21:14,400
the canopy. Um but none of your none of

1984
01:21:14,400 --> 01:21:16,239
your visual simulations that you call

1985
01:21:16,239 --> 01:21:18,560
them were from anywhere else but the

1986
01:21:18,560 --> 01:21:19,520
valley floor.

1987
01:21:19,520 --> 01:21:21,679
>> And and I'm going to agree with you on

1988
01:21:21,679 --> 01:21:23,760
that. We didn't consider that, which is

1989
01:21:23,760 --> 01:21:25,280
why when the planning commission asked

1990
01:21:25,280 --> 01:21:26,560
us to do another visibility

1991
01:21:26,560 --> 01:21:29,199
demonstration, we agreed to do that. So,

1992
01:21:29,199 --> 01:21:31,120
we'll advertise it. I'm sure before the

1993
01:21:31,120 --> 01:21:33,199
night's out, we'll agree on a date and

1994
01:21:33,199 --> 01:21:35,520
uh um u the planning commission will get

1995
01:21:35,520 --> 01:21:37,280
the word out and uh we'll put an

1996
01:21:37,280 --> 01:21:38,560
advertisement in the newspaper if

1997
01:21:38,560 --> 01:21:41,679
necessary and uh um and people will be

1998
01:21:41,679 --> 01:21:43,440
able to assess it from their own

1999
01:21:43,440 --> 01:21:45,120
particular vantage points.

2000
01:21:45,120 --> 01:21:47,120
>> Mhm. That'll be a balloon test.

2001
01:21:47,120 --> 01:21:47,520
>> Yes.

2002
01:21:47,520 --> 01:21:50,159
>> And what's the balloon? 4 foot balloon.

2003
01:21:50,159 --> 01:21:51,120
Is that right? How big?

2004
01:21:51,120 --> 01:21:52,080
>> Yeah, exactly.

2005
01:21:52,080 --> 01:21:54,320
>> Yeah. You were saying the the balloon is

2006
01:21:54,320 --> 01:21:58,159
representative um of the tower, but the

2007
01:21:58,159 --> 01:22:00,719
tower is about 800 square f feet and the

2008
01:22:00,719 --> 01:22:03,520
balloon a 4ft circle is about 12 1/2 ft.

2009
01:22:03,520 --> 01:22:07,199
So you would need like 66 balloons to be

2010
01:22:07,199 --> 01:22:08,960
the same size as a tower.

2011
01:22:08,960 --> 01:22:10,719
>> No, what we can do what the balloon

2012
01:22:10,719 --> 01:22:12,480
indicates is whether or not you can see

2013
01:22:12,480 --> 01:22:14,719
it from a particular location. And then

2014
01:22:14,719 --> 01:22:16,560
if there's visibility like we showed at

2015
01:22:16,560 --> 01:22:18,080
the the previous visibility

2016
01:22:18,080 --> 01:22:20,480
demonstration, we can engage engineers

2017
01:22:20,480 --> 01:22:23,520
to scale it off and do a photo

2018
01:22:23,520 --> 01:22:25,199
simulation of what it will look like

2019
01:22:25,199 --> 01:22:26,480
from that vantage point.

2020
01:22:26,480 --> 01:22:28,480
>> Okay. You just you had said this is what

2021
01:22:28,480 --> 01:22:30,080
the tower is going to look like the

2022
01:22:30,080 --> 01:22:30,639
balloon.

2023
01:22:30,639 --> 01:22:32,960
>> No, no, no.

2024
01:22:32,960 --> 01:22:34,080
>> So the balloon is

2025
01:22:34,080 --> 01:22:35,679
>> Sorry. So yeah, just to reiterate on the

2026
01:22:35,679 --> 01:22:37,280
balloon test. So the balloon Yes, it

2027
01:22:37,280 --> 01:22:39,280
absolutely is 4 ft in diameter. the

2028
01:22:39,280 --> 01:22:41,360
standard uh sector frame that that the

2029
01:22:41,360 --> 01:22:42,960
carriers mount their equipment on is

2030
01:22:42,960 --> 01:22:45,760
about um 12 feet in width. So basically

2031
01:22:45,760 --> 01:22:47,440
the balloon is about a third the width

2032
01:22:47,440 --> 01:22:49,440
of the tower. So between that and then

2033
01:22:49,440 --> 01:22:52,400
we also use markers on the the string or

2034
01:22:52,400 --> 01:22:54,800
the cable at 10 foot in increments so we

2035
01:22:54,800 --> 01:22:56,320
can actually see the direction confirm

2036
01:22:56,320 --> 01:22:57,520
the direction. We usually have two

2037
01:22:57,520 --> 01:22:58,960
people on site, one person at the

2038
01:22:58,960 --> 01:23:00,560
balloon at all times, one person driving

2039
01:23:00,560 --> 01:23:02,560
around taking photos to try to make sure

2040
01:23:02,560 --> 01:23:03,760
that the balloon is as straight as

2041
01:23:03,760 --> 01:23:05,199
possible, as accurate as possible when

2042
01:23:05,199 --> 01:23:06,880
we take those photos. And then we

2043
01:23:06,880 --> 01:23:09,600
utilize 3D

2044
01:23:09,600 --> 01:23:12,239
drafting software um as long as as well

2045
01:23:12,239 --> 01:23:14,719
as Photoshop to basically superimpose in

2046
01:23:14,719 --> 01:23:16,800
a realistic view of the tower. And when

2047
01:23:16,800 --> 01:23:18,239
you compare the size of the balloon with

2048
01:23:18,239 --> 01:23:19,840
the safe face of the tower, I'm

2049
01:23:19,840 --> 01:23:22,080
confident you'll see that the scale is

2050
01:23:22,080 --> 01:23:24,000
representational of of what you would

2051
01:23:24,000 --> 01:23:27,990
expect it to be.

2052
01:23:28,000 --> 01:23:29,440
» I'm gonna get let someone else have a

2053
01:23:29,440 --> 01:23:30,400
opportunity.

2054
01:23:30,400 --> 01:23:33,600
>> Dan, um Kevin has had Kevin Guyger has

2055
01:23:33,600 --> 01:23:35,520
his hand up again. All right, go to

2056
01:23:35,520 --> 01:23:38,480
Kevin and then Alvina and then back

2057
01:23:38,480 --> 01:23:44,550
there.

2058
01:23:44,560 --> 01:23:46,560
» Sorry, I think that just has stayed up

2059
01:23:46,560 --> 01:23:48,080
somehow.

2060
01:23:48,080 --> 01:23:49,840
>> Okay. Okay.

2061
01:23:49,840 --> 01:23:56,390
>> Oh, okay.

2062
01:23:56,400 --> 01:23:58,239
» Rochester.

2063
01:23:58,239 --> 01:23:59,520
All right.

2064
01:23:59,520 --> 01:24:01,600
I understand

2065
01:24:01,600 --> 01:24:06,000
the logic and lowering the counter is

2066
01:24:06,000 --> 01:24:08,480
also

2067
01:24:08,480 --> 01:24:11,040
a little disturbing that you're going to

2068
01:24:11,040 --> 01:24:15,199
lower and thereby restrict

2069
01:24:15,199 --> 01:24:17,199
the signal

2070
01:24:17,199 --> 01:24:19,920
that is going to be available to West

2071
01:24:19,920 --> 01:24:23,679
Rochester and north and south

2072
01:24:23,679 --> 01:24:25,920
of town.

2073
01:24:25,920 --> 01:24:28,239
And in this day and age, it was seeing

2074
01:24:28,239 --> 01:24:29,760
that

2075
01:24:29,760 --> 01:24:32,960
tower should be back at its original

2076
01:24:32,960 --> 01:24:38,400
height. So that the areas west of town

2077
01:24:38,400 --> 01:24:43,040
73 will also be able to serve it as well

2078
01:24:43,040 --> 01:24:47,760
as a greater areas north and south 100.

2079
01:24:47,760 --> 01:24:50,880
I understand everyone's concern about

2080
01:24:50,880 --> 01:25:05,990
the tower being visible, but uh I think

2081
01:25:06,000 --> 01:25:08,400
Um, let's remember to keep this to our

2082
01:25:08,400 --> 01:25:10,480
questions and we'll come back around to

2083
01:25:10,480 --> 01:25:12,880
your your comments about what you think

2084
01:25:12,880 --> 01:25:16,390
about the project.

2085
01:25:16,400 --> 01:25:18,320
» Go ahead and zoom land.

2086
01:25:18,320 --> 01:25:21,280
>> Uh, yes. I had a question for you and

2087
01:25:21,280 --> 01:25:24,880
that is who is incentivizing you and

2088
01:25:24,880 --> 01:25:28,080
your company to build the tower? Um, is

2089
01:25:28,080 --> 01:25:30,639
it the state of Vermont? Is it the

2090
01:25:30,639 --> 01:25:32,560
federal government? like where's the pot

2091
01:25:32,560 --> 01:25:36,000
of money coming from for your company to

2092
01:25:36,000 --> 01:25:38,880
come in and build the tower? And also uh

2093
01:25:38,880 --> 01:25:40,639
the second question is you mentioned

2094
01:25:40,639 --> 01:25:43,280
that you colllocate if you could and

2095
01:25:43,280 --> 01:25:45,440
somehow I'm guessing that that's not

2096
01:25:45,440 --> 01:25:47,120
exactly the case because then you would

2097
01:25:47,120 --> 01:25:48,880
not be building a tower, you would not

2098
01:25:48,880 --> 01:25:52,560
be having a job from this project. So I

2099
01:25:52,560 --> 01:25:54,320
think Verizon should actually speak to

2100
01:25:54,320 --> 01:26:01,669
that, not you specifically.

2101
01:26:01,679 --> 01:26:04,800
Um I I explained in the beginning Vertex

2102
01:26:04,800 --> 01:26:07,040
is a wireless infrastructure developer.

2103
01:26:07,040 --> 01:26:08,960
We are essentially real estate

2104
01:26:08,960 --> 01:26:11,199
developers. We partner up with

2105
01:26:11,199 --> 01:26:13,679
telecommunications companies. We use our

2106
01:26:13,679 --> 01:26:17,679
own capital. Um uh we bring

2107
01:26:17,679 --> 01:26:20,320
telecommunications to rural areas

2108
01:26:20,320 --> 01:26:23,840
because getting Verizon or anyone else

2109
01:26:23,840 --> 01:26:26,400
to build their own tower and and what

2110
01:26:26,400 --> 01:26:28,159
happened in the old days is that Verizon

2111
01:26:28,159 --> 01:26:30,080
would build its towers and then when

2112
01:26:30,080 --> 01:26:32,239
people wanted to share like Verizon or

2113
01:26:32,239 --> 01:26:34,960
AT&T or T-Mobile, they wouldn't play

2114
01:26:34,960 --> 01:26:36,080
well together because they were

2115
01:26:36,080 --> 01:26:38,320
competing in a telecommunications arena.

2116
01:26:38,320 --> 01:26:40,400
So wireless infrastructure developers

2117
01:26:40,400 --> 01:26:45,600
like Vertex came out to um you know do

2118
01:26:45,600 --> 01:26:47,040
all the due diligence. We've done an

2119
01:26:47,040 --> 01:26:48,320
immense amount of work just to be

2120
01:26:48,320 --> 01:26:50,080
standing here tonight. We still have a

2121
01:26:50,080 --> 01:26:52,880
lot of work to do to get through the PUC

2122
01:26:52,880 --> 01:26:54,480
process and then we have to do the

2123
01:26:54,480 --> 01:26:56,000
construction work. All of which costs

2124
01:26:56,000 --> 01:26:59,760
money, but it uh enables companies like

2125
01:26:59,760 --> 01:27:02,400
Verizon to focus on Rochester and

2126
01:27:02,400 --> 01:27:05,440
Stockbridge and Granville and the rest

2127
01:27:05,440 --> 01:27:08,080
of Vermont. It's a it's a we utilize our

2128
01:27:08,080 --> 01:27:12,800
capital. The the state also by um using

2129
01:27:12,800 --> 01:27:16,320
the PUC process as opposed to local

2130
01:27:16,320 --> 01:27:19,440
zoning um is encouraging the development

2131
01:27:19,440 --> 01:27:22,480
of this to have a uniform process as uh

2132
01:27:22,480 --> 01:27:24,880
which is uh Connecticut does the same

2133
01:27:24,880 --> 01:27:27,120
thing but Massachusetts and Vermont and

2134
01:27:27,120 --> 01:27:29,679
Maine we have to comply with 300

2135
01:27:29,679 --> 01:27:34,560
different zoning bylaws all of which are disperate. So the state of Vermont

2136
01:27:34,560 --> 01:27:36,320
is actually encouraging this because

2137
01:27:36,320 --> 01:27:38,960
they recognize the public good in better

2138
01:27:38,960 --> 01:27:40,480
telecommunications.

2139
01:27:40,480 --> 01:27:43,360
So uh but the the the you know this is

2140
01:27:43,360 --> 01:27:46,480
not government subsidized. This is uh

2141
01:27:46,480 --> 01:27:49,520
privately subsidized by uh Vert.Ex and

2142
01:27:49,520 --> 01:27:59,110
Verizon.

2143
01:27:59,120 --> 01:28:01,760
Hi, Janna Marie here and I just

2144
01:28:01,760 --> 01:28:04,080
wanted to ask you sir to go on record

2145
01:28:04,080 --> 01:28:05,520
because some people are concerned about

2146
01:28:05,520 --> 01:28:08,159
visibility that could you tell everybody

2147
01:28:08,159 --> 01:28:10,320
here would you agree that it's not going

2148
01:28:10,320 --> 01:28:12,400
to be an accurate representation the

2149
01:28:12,400 --> 01:28:14,239
balloon test will not be accurate

2150
01:28:14,239 --> 01:28:16,320
because it's much smaller than the

2151
01:28:16,320 --> 01:28:18,400
actual tower would be. So the visibility

2152
01:28:18,400 --> 01:28:20,159
I understand you're doing a test so that

2153
01:28:20,159 --> 01:28:21,840
people can look but it's not really

2154
01:28:21,840 --> 01:28:23,840
going to accurately represent what it

2155
01:28:23,840 --> 01:28:26,639
would look like. Is that correct?

2156
01:28:26,639 --> 01:28:29,040
No, but what I can then do if there's a

2157
01:28:29,040 --> 01:28:31,280
place that you can see the balloon, I

2158
01:28:31,280 --> 01:28:34,880
can then take a um we do a photo

2159
01:28:34,880 --> 01:28:37,120
simulation with engineers to scale it

2160
01:28:37,120 --> 01:28:38,239
out. And that's what we had done

2161
01:28:38,239 --> 01:28:40,719
previously. And uh and the engineers

2162
01:28:40,719 --> 01:28:43,280
have done it many many times and uh

2163
01:28:43,280 --> 01:28:46,080
certify us to the accuracy of it. So um

2164
01:28:46,080 --> 01:28:47,760
you know I if you'd rather I'll build a

2165
01:28:47,760 --> 01:28:49,600
tower and then that'll show what it'll

2166
01:28:49,600 --> 01:28:51,199
look like. But I can't do I can't. Yeah,

2167
01:28:51,199 --> 01:28:53,360
I agree. I again I'm sorry for being

2168
01:28:53,360 --> 01:28:57,120
facicious but uh uh but you know that

2169
01:28:57,120 --> 01:28:58,880
you know we this is the best that we can

2170
01:28:58,880 --> 01:29:01,199
do and it's worked very successfully in

2171
01:29:01,199 --> 01:29:02,880
many many other cities and towns

2172
01:29:02,880 --> 01:29:04,159
throughout uh New England.

2173
01:29:04,159 --> 01:29:05,280
>> I understand but you were just showing

2174
01:29:05,280 --> 01:29:07,440
us a lot of photos of a balloon and it's

2175
01:29:07,440 --> 01:29:09,520
not an accurate representation. Correct.

2176
01:29:09,520 --> 01:29:12,000
>> No, the photo simulation is an accurate

2177
01:29:12,000 --> 01:29:15,520
representation. I uh many times we go

2178
01:29:15,520 --> 01:29:18,800
back and take photos of the actual tower

2179
01:29:18,800 --> 01:29:21,840
after we build it to show that the

2180
01:29:21,840 --> 01:29:23,920
simulation that we produced a year

2181
01:29:23,920 --> 01:29:25,679
before is accurate.

2182
01:29:25,679 --> 01:29:28,000
>> No, but we're here now and we're asking

2183
01:29:28,000 --> 01:29:30,000
questions and one of the concerns has to

2184
01:29:30,000 --> 01:29:33,360
do with visibility and what it would

2185
01:29:33,360 --> 01:29:35,600
look like and a balloon test is not

2186
01:29:35,600 --> 01:29:37,520
accurate to what it would look like as a

2187
01:29:37,520 --> 01:29:39,520
fully built tower. Correct. I

2188
01:29:39,520 --> 01:29:43,040
>> I respectfully disagree with you, ma'am.

2189
01:29:43,040 --> 01:29:45,199
So Francis, can I ask you a question

2190
01:29:45,199 --> 01:29:47,360
just so that I'm understanding?

2191
01:29:47,360 --> 01:29:49,760
>> You are going to do another balloon test

2192
01:29:49,760 --> 01:29:51,440
at a date to be determined, preferably

2193
01:29:51,440 --> 01:29:52,639
tonight.

2194
01:29:52,639 --> 01:29:54,880
>> If uh the balloon is visible from a

2195
01:29:54,880 --> 01:29:57,440
specific location, your engineers will

2196
01:29:57,440 --> 01:30:01,280
take that location and turn it into

2197
01:30:01,280 --> 01:30:04,080
a 2D representation of what a tower

2198
01:30:04,080 --> 01:30:06,000
would look like there using modeling

2199
01:30:06,000 --> 01:30:07,040
software.

2200
01:30:07,040 --> 01:30:07,600
>> That's correct.

2201
01:30:07,600 --> 01:30:09,600
>> And then you would provide us with those

2202
01:30:09,600 --> 01:30:10,320
images.

2203
01:30:10,320 --> 01:30:14,229
>> That's correct. Okay.

2204
01:30:14,239 --> 01:30:18,709
» Thanks for that clarification.

2205
01:30:18,719 --> 01:30:21,760
» Scott has something to add here.

2206
01:30:21,760 --> 01:30:23,199
>> Just just for kind of a point of

2207
01:30:23,199 --> 01:30:25,199
clarification. So once we set the date,

2208
01:30:25,199 --> 01:30:26,880
myself and one of my staff will visit

2209
01:30:26,880 --> 01:30:29,199
the site. We will drive up to the top of

2210
01:30:29,199 --> 01:30:30,719
the site where where we have staked out

2211
01:30:30,719 --> 01:30:32,639
the proposed tower location. We

2212
01:30:32,639 --> 01:30:34,880
pre-measure in the in the field ahead of

2213
01:30:34,880 --> 01:30:37,840
time the length of u it's basically kite

2214
01:30:37,840 --> 01:30:39,600
flying string that's capable of holding

2215
01:30:39,600 --> 01:30:43,040
250 pounds. We blow up via a helium

2216
01:30:43,040 --> 01:30:45,280
balloon over 4t in diameter. Usually

2217
01:30:45,280 --> 01:30:46,719
four feet is the minimum. It's usually

2218
01:30:46,719 --> 01:30:48,320
even larger than that. And we we measure

2219
01:30:48,320 --> 01:30:50,159
the circumference, you know, when we're

2220
01:30:50,159 --> 01:30:52,880
on site. And then we raise that balloon

2221
01:30:52,880 --> 01:30:54,960
so that the bottom of the balloon is

2222
01:30:54,960 --> 01:30:56,639
equal to the height of the tower. And

2223
01:30:56,639 --> 01:30:58,320
the reason we do that is so that I can

2224
01:30:58,320 --> 01:31:01,199
attest that if I if I can

2225
01:31:01,199 --> 01:31:03,040
cannot see the balloon, that means the

2226
01:31:03,040 --> 01:31:05,520
top of the balloon is four to five feet

2227
01:31:05,520 --> 01:31:07,120
higher than the tower. So if I can't see

2228
01:31:07,120 --> 01:31:08,480
the balloon, then you will not be able

2229
01:31:08,480 --> 01:31:10,239
to see the tower. And if I can only see

2230
01:31:10,239 --> 01:31:12,639
a sliver of the balloon, you still will

2231
01:31:12,639 --> 01:31:15,840
not be able to see the tower. So the the

2232
01:31:15,840 --> 01:31:17,679
tower, the top of the tower was equal to

2233
01:31:17,679 --> 01:31:19,760
the bottom of the balloon. And that is

2234
01:31:19,760 --> 01:31:21,440
absolutely accurate. And we field

2235
01:31:21,440 --> 01:31:22,800
measure it with electronic distance

2236
01:31:22,800 --> 01:31:25,199
measuring devices while on site standing

2237
01:31:25,199 --> 01:31:27,360
below the tower in addition to literally

2238
01:31:27,360 --> 01:31:29,679
using a tape measure at the at the site

2239
01:31:29,679 --> 01:31:35,750
prior to driving up to the top.

2240
01:31:35,760 --> 01:31:37,520
» Thanks Jake.

2241
01:31:37,520 --> 01:31:39,600
>> Hey Jake Wildwood from Rochester, your

2242
01:31:39,600 --> 01:31:43,920
2,000 ft neighbor to the tower. Uh how

2243
01:31:43,920 --> 01:31:45,920
long is the lease

2244
01:31:45,920 --> 01:31:49,120
um on the property and what happens at

2245
01:31:49,120 --> 01:31:51,040
the end of the lease? Do you take it

2246
01:31:51,040 --> 01:31:55,040
down, do you leave it up, etc.?

2247
01:31:55,040 --> 01:31:57,040
>> Um, I don't usually get involved in

2248
01:31:57,040 --> 01:31:58,880
that, so I can only speak generically,

2249
01:31:58,880 --> 01:32:00,480
but generally they're about 50-year

2250
01:32:00,480 --> 01:32:03,760
leases. And uh um we've never had to

2251
01:32:03,760 --> 01:32:08,000
take one down yet, but um if uh as part

2252
01:32:08,000 --> 01:32:12,080
of the PUC process, if the town asks, we

2253
01:32:12,080 --> 01:32:15,440
will agree to post a bond so that uh and

2254
01:32:15,440 --> 01:32:17,840
then I can get Scott to estimate the

2255
01:32:17,840 --> 01:32:20,239
cost of removing it and bring it down

2256
01:32:20,239 --> 01:32:22,000
and we can post a bond for that amount.

2257
01:32:22,000 --> 01:32:24,480
And it's a common ask and uh I'm not

2258
01:32:24,480 --> 01:32:26,800
supposed to offer it, but my suspicion

2259
01:32:26,800 --> 01:32:29,679
is someone in the process will. and uh

2260
01:32:29,679 --> 01:32:31,920
um and and so it's we're not

2261
01:32:31,920 --> 01:32:33,520
anticipating that this is going to

2262
01:32:33,520 --> 01:32:36,000
become obsolete. However, it's a

2263
01:32:36,000 --> 01:32:38,080
legitimate concern and uh I'm not going

2264
01:32:38,080 --> 01:32:39,760
to be here at the end of that 50 years,

2265
01:32:39,760 --> 01:32:42,400
but uh there's a mechanism that we've

2266
01:32:42,400 --> 01:32:44,639
used previously to make sure that if I

2267
01:32:44,639 --> 01:32:46,880
disappear and Vertex disappears and

2268
01:32:46,880 --> 01:32:48,320
Verizon disappears that there's a

2269
01:32:48,320 --> 01:32:56,310
mechanism to take it down.

2270
01:32:56,320 --> 01:32:58,000
I have a couple of questions if you

2271
01:32:58,000 --> 01:32:59,040
don't mind.

2272
01:32:59,040 --> 01:33:00,159
>> Identify yourself.

2273
01:33:00,159 --> 01:33:02,800
>> Oh, sorry. Lori Church.

2274
01:33:02,800 --> 01:33:04,320
Uh,

2275
01:33:04,320 --> 01:33:06,480
one question on back to the balloon

2276
01:33:06,480 --> 01:33:09,120
test. If you said I mean I'm I'm little

2277
01:33:09,120 --> 01:33:11,840
girl. I'm math. So, if you say that the

2278
01:33:11,840 --> 01:33:14,400
balloon is four feet in diameter and the

2279
01:33:14,400 --> 01:33:16,719
top of the tower is 12 feet, why would

2280
01:33:16,719 --> 01:33:18,800
you not put up three balloons so that we

2281
01:33:18,800 --> 01:33:20,320
can know that we could see it? Because

2282
01:33:20,320 --> 01:33:22,639
to several neighbors points, we're

2283
01:33:22,639 --> 01:33:24,960
concerned about the visibility of it.

2284
01:33:24,960 --> 01:33:28,080
>> Uh um yeah, well, let me explain that.

2285
01:33:28,080 --> 01:33:30,560
Um the balloon is just a visual

2286
01:33:30,560 --> 01:33:33,120
representation and we have limits. If I

2287
01:33:33,120 --> 01:33:35,760
put a 12-oot balloon, then it there's

2288
01:33:35,760 --> 01:33:38,239
more surface area for the wind. One of

2289
01:33:38,239 --> 01:33:39,520
the things that's going to happen is

2290
01:33:39,520 --> 01:33:40,800
we're going to agree on a date and I'm

2291
01:33:40,800 --> 01:33:43,600
going to throw out November

2292
01:33:43,600 --> 01:33:47,199
12th and but if you can tell me that

2293
01:33:47,199 --> 01:33:49,440
it's going to be calm on November 12th,

2294
01:33:49,440 --> 01:33:51,360
thank you. But I can't predict that. So

2295
01:33:51,360 --> 01:33:53,120
what I'm going to do is advertise it and

2296
01:33:53,120 --> 01:33:54,800
say we're going to put up on November

2297
01:33:54,800 --> 01:33:57,920
12th, but check a website the day before

2298
01:33:57,920 --> 01:33:59,600
and we'll make the determined for that

2299
01:33:59,600 --> 01:34:00,960
the winds are cooperative or not

2300
01:34:00,960 --> 01:34:03,199
cooperative. And we've done this so many

2301
01:34:03,199 --> 01:34:06,320
times that um you know and we've tried

2302
01:34:06,320 --> 01:34:09,440
bigger balloons and we've tried um other

2303
01:34:09,440 --> 01:34:13,360
technologies and the more surface area

2304
01:34:13,360 --> 01:34:15,520
the less accurate it will be because

2305
01:34:15,520 --> 01:34:17,600
then that the balloon will blow over. So

2306
01:34:17,600 --> 01:34:20,800
this is but like I said what Scott can

2307
01:34:20,800 --> 01:34:24,080
do is if he sees the balloon he can then

2308
01:34:24,080 --> 01:34:27,440
do a scaled model to show what it will

2309
01:34:27,440 --> 01:34:29,760
look like. So I don't think it's not

2310
01:34:29,760 --> 01:34:32,080
representative because I can produce a

2311
01:34:32,080 --> 01:34:36,159
model u um that that shows you're not if

2312
01:34:36,159 --> 01:34:37,600
you can't see it seven miles away

2313
01:34:37,600 --> 01:34:38,639
whether it's this big you're not going

2314
01:34:38,639 --> 01:34:40,080
to see it whether it's this big it

2315
01:34:40,080 --> 01:34:41,600
doesn't change that

2316
01:34:41,600 --> 01:34:43,360
>> that logic doesn't work

2317
01:34:43,360 --> 01:34:45,120
>> um well I I'm telling you we've done

2318
01:34:45,120 --> 01:34:48,480
this many many times successfully u so

2319
01:34:48,480 --> 01:34:51,600
uh and uh and the issue that we have is

2320
01:34:51,600 --> 01:34:54,800
predicting the weather um in advance but

2321
01:34:54,800 --> 01:34:56,239
we've come up with a mechanism to

2322
01:34:56,239 --> 01:34:58,639
advertise that um once we get the

2323
01:34:58,639 --> 01:35:00,639
balloon up and and you know we have to

2324
01:35:00,639 --> 01:35:04,239
pick a day where the wind speeds are 5

2325
01:35:04,239 --> 01:35:07,120
to 10 miles an hour and not more because

2326
01:35:07,120 --> 01:35:08,880
if they're more than 10 then the balloon

2327
01:35:08,880 --> 01:35:11,280
blows around and then folks complain

2328
01:35:11,280 --> 01:35:13,120
that it's not accurate because the

2329
01:35:13,120 --> 01:35:14,639
string is like this as opposed to like

2330
01:35:14,639 --> 01:35:18,639
this. So um we've uh we try very hard to

2331
01:35:18,639 --> 01:35:20,960
make it as representative as possible.

2332
01:35:20,960 --> 01:35:23,760
Uh and our our choice is to build the

2333
01:35:23,760 --> 01:35:25,280
tower and take pictures of it but I

2334
01:35:25,280 --> 01:35:26,480
don't think the town wants us to do

2335
01:35:26,480 --> 01:35:28,320
that. So this is the limitation that we

2336
01:35:28,320 --> 01:35:31,199
have with the technology that we have.

2337
01:35:31,199 --> 01:35:32,960
>> Okay. Second question, just a simple yes

2338
01:35:32,960 --> 01:35:36,080
or no. Would you say that your plan

2339
01:35:36,080 --> 01:35:38,239
conforms to the town plan and regional

2340
01:35:38,239 --> 01:35:39,440
plan?

2341
01:35:39,440 --> 01:35:40,960
>> Yes.

2342
01:35:40,960 --> 01:35:43,360
>> Do you want to rethink that one?

2343
01:35:43,360 --> 01:35:45,040
>> That's not a question.

2344
01:35:45,040 --> 01:35:46,320
>> That actually was a question.

2345
01:35:46,320 --> 01:35:47,920
>> No, no, that was a great question. I

2346
01:35:47,920 --> 01:35:49,840
actually thought your yes or no was a

2347
01:35:49,840 --> 01:35:51,679
great question, but you want to rethink

2348
01:35:51,679 --> 01:35:54,960
that is not a question. I was allowing

2349
01:35:54,960 --> 01:35:57,280
him a second chance to answer.

2350
01:35:57,280 --> 01:35:58,560
>> The answer is yes. Again,

2351
01:35:58,560 --> 01:36:00,800
>> literally not phrased as a question. So,

2352
01:36:00,800 --> 01:36:02,080
part of the reason, and I'll say this

2353
01:36:02,080 --> 01:36:05,440
because I'm a process here, right? We

2354
01:36:05,440 --> 01:36:07,520
want to be able to provide you with

2355
01:36:07,520 --> 01:36:10,480
information and we want to know what

2356
01:36:10,480 --> 01:36:13,120
information we need to provide to you.

2357
01:36:13,120 --> 01:36:16,080
And then we want to provide you with

2358
01:36:16,080 --> 01:36:18,400
multiple opportunities to make comments

2359
01:36:18,400 --> 01:36:20,480
to say them in good faith and receive

2360
01:36:20,480 --> 01:36:23,360
them in good faith. And so, as My

2361
01:36:23,360 --> 01:36:25,360
request would be for you to think about

2362
01:36:25,360 --> 01:36:28,159
the form of your question and whether or

2363
01:36:28,159 --> 01:36:31,120
not it is inviting somebody to actually

2364
01:36:31,120 --> 01:36:35,840
answer it or setting them up

2365
01:36:35,840 --> 01:36:37,760
in a way that is just guaranteed to

2366
01:36:37,760 --> 01:36:41,040
fail. And I my my request goes in both

2367
01:36:41,040 --> 01:36:42,880
directions to both people who are

2368
01:36:42,880 --> 01:36:47,280
presenting to us and presented to. So

2369
01:36:47,280 --> 01:36:48,480
that's

2370
01:36:48,480 --> 01:36:49,119
>> okay.

2371
01:36:49,119 --> 01:36:51,840
>> My not me breaking my own rules and

2372
01:36:51,840 --> 01:36:53,600
making

2373
01:36:53,600 --> 01:36:54,400
Start that way.

2374
01:36:54,400 --> 01:36:57,600
>> I understand, however, that good faith

2375
01:36:57,600 --> 01:36:59,520
does go both ways because I lost count

2376
01:36:59,520 --> 01:37:00,880
on the number of times I was writing

2377
01:37:00,880 --> 01:37:02,560
down

2378
01:37:02,560 --> 01:37:06,639
minimal visibility, virtually invisible,

2379
01:37:06,639 --> 01:37:08,880
no one overseas,

2380
01:37:08,880 --> 01:37:10,800
not going to see it at all. You won't

2381
01:37:10,800 --> 01:37:13,040
see it.

2382
01:37:13,040 --> 01:37:15,360
Is that real?

2383
01:37:15,360 --> 01:37:16,800
>> That's why we do a visibility

2384
01:37:16,800 --> 01:37:18,320
determination so that you can make your

2385
01:37:18,320 --> 01:37:19,760
own assessment of that, ma'am.

2386
01:37:19,760 --> 01:37:23,199
>> Okay. My final question is

2387
01:37:23,199 --> 01:37:25,440
the standard is the certificate of

2388
01:37:25,440 --> 01:37:29,600
public good. That's what you're seeking.

2389
01:37:29,600 --> 01:37:31,840
Whose public good is this? Or is this

2390
01:37:31,840 --> 01:37:33,920
corporate good? Because if the town of

2391
01:37:33,920 --> 01:37:36,880
Rochester has multiple landline

2392
01:37:36,880 --> 01:37:42,320
providers, EC Fiber, AT&T, I live very

2393
01:37:42,320 --> 01:37:44,719
of town. Also, I have great coverage

2394
01:37:44,719 --> 01:37:46,880
with AT&T.

2395
01:37:46,880 --> 01:37:48,800
>> That may be that could very well be. I'm

2396
01:37:48,800 --> 01:37:50,639
saying I have it.

2397
01:37:50,639 --> 01:37:54,159
But even the attorney said that it's

2398
01:37:54,159 --> 01:37:56,800
mostly for visitors. So is this a

2399
01:37:56,800 --> 01:37:59,360
certificate of public good or is there a

2400
01:37:59,360 --> 01:38:02,400
certificate of for Verizon and T-Mobile

2401
01:38:02,400 --> 01:38:05,199
to come in?

2402
01:38:05,199 --> 01:38:06,960
>> There are an immense amount of Verizon

2403
01:38:06,960 --> 01:38:09,520
and T-Mobile customers who hopefully

2404
01:38:09,520 --> 01:38:11,280
live in Rochester, who live throughout

2405
01:38:11,280 --> 01:38:12,719
the state of Vermont, who come to

2406
01:38:12,719 --> 01:38:15,040
Vermont to enjoy uh the scenic

2407
01:38:15,040 --> 01:38:17,199
resources. Uh there's an immense amount

2408
01:38:17,199 --> 01:38:18,800
of public good. There's an immense

2409
01:38:18,800 --> 01:38:21,119
amount of public safety benefit that

2410
01:38:21,119 --> 01:38:26,239
comes from a tower like this. Uh uh I I go to a lot of public hearings like

2411
01:38:26,239 --> 01:38:28,480
this and I hear so many stories about

2412
01:38:28,480 --> 01:38:31,280
people who had a house fire and couldn't

2413
01:38:31,280 --> 01:38:33,040
get a telecommunications signal, so the

2414
01:38:33,040 --> 01:38:35,280
house burned to the ground as opposed to

2415
01:38:35,280 --> 01:38:38,320
fire engines uh coming on a timely

2416
01:38:38,320 --> 01:38:40,320
manner. I was at a hearing a couple

2417
01:38:40,320 --> 01:38:43,600
months ago where a woman said, um, just

2418
01:38:43,600 --> 01:38:45,600
so you know, I'm going to look at this

2419
01:38:45,600 --> 01:38:48,320
tower every day. This is in my line of

2420
01:38:48,320 --> 01:38:50,639
sight from my picture window. But the

2421
01:38:50,639 --> 01:38:52,159
benefit is is that I'm going to be able

2422
01:38:52,159 --> 01:38:54,639
to live in my house because my husband

2423
01:38:54,639 --> 01:38:57,920
died 10 years ago. And uh I can't live

2424
01:38:57,920 --> 01:39:00,159
alone without my call button. My help,

2425
01:39:00,159 --> 01:39:03,040
I'm fallen. I can't get up button. And I

2426
01:39:03,040 --> 01:39:06,320
can't walk to my mailbox and get a Wi-Fi

2427
01:39:06,320 --> 01:39:08,159
signal. So if I fall on my way to my

2428
01:39:08,159 --> 01:39:10,159
mailbox, I'm lying there. But this

2429
01:39:10,159 --> 01:39:12,080
telecommunications tower is going to

2430
01:39:12,080 --> 01:39:14,480
allow me to stay in my home. And I could

2431
01:39:14,480 --> 01:39:16,800
tell you a thousand stories like that.

2432
01:39:16,800 --> 01:39:19,360
Um and so there's an immense public

2433
01:39:19,360 --> 01:39:23,600
good. And uh um and and again the fact

2434
01:39:23,600 --> 01:39:25,760
that we're bringing a structure that

2435
01:39:25,760 --> 01:39:28,639
allows competition that's certainly in

2436
01:39:28,639 --> 01:39:30,400
the public good. It's certainly in

2437
01:39:30,400 --> 01:39:32,159
Verizon's but Verizon's not doing this

2438
01:39:32,159 --> 01:39:35,119
altruistically. They're doing it to um

2439
01:39:35,119 --> 01:39:38,560
to bring telecommunications to places

2440
01:39:38,560 --> 01:39:40,560
like Rochester, Vermont, which as you

2441
01:39:40,560 --> 01:39:43,119
can imagine isn't as populated as Boston

2442
01:39:43,119 --> 01:39:46,239
or Montpielar or Burlington, where you

2443
01:39:46,239 --> 01:39:48,159
know you get more return on your

2444
01:39:48,159 --> 01:39:50,480
investment, but they also have

2445
01:39:50,480 --> 01:39:52,320
requirements from the federal government

2446
01:39:52,320 --> 01:39:56,159
to uh develop better telecommunications

2447
01:39:56,159 --> 01:39:58,320
networks to bring better

2448
01:39:58,320 --> 01:40:00,400
telecommunications to Rochester and

2449
01:40:00,400 --> 01:40:02,000
Stockbridge and everywhere up and down

2450
01:40:02,000 --> 01:40:04,239
the Route under corridor. So, we're all

2451
01:40:04,239 --> 01:40:06,719
working together for the public good.

2452
01:40:06,719 --> 01:40:09,520
And uh you know, I've I've had several

2453
01:40:09,520 --> 01:40:11,920
people here tonight say, "How come

2454
01:40:11,920 --> 01:40:14,800
you're not building a tower taller to

2455
01:40:14,800 --> 01:40:17,520
cover my house as opposed to your

2456
01:40:17,520 --> 01:40:19,920
house?" So, and we try the best we can

2457
01:40:19,920 --> 01:40:22,639
to address everybody's concerns, but I

2458
01:40:22,639 --> 01:40:24,320
can assure you not everybody in town is

2459
01:40:24,320 --> 01:40:27,840
going to be happy. And um uh I I never

2460
01:40:27,840 --> 01:40:29,440
once said it was going to be invisible.

2461
01:40:29,440 --> 01:40:33,679
I never once. And I I um I I and I can't

2462
01:40:33,679 --> 01:40:36,080
say that. Uh the last time I went to

2463
01:40:36,080 --> 01:40:37,760
England, I went to Diagon Alley and I

2464
01:40:37,760 --> 01:40:39,679
tried to buy an invisibility cloak and

2465
01:40:39,679 --> 01:40:42,080
they just don't sell them. Harry Potter

2466
01:40:42,080 --> 01:40:44,719
joke. Uh Harry Potter joke.

2467
01:40:44,719 --> 01:40:48,790
>> I do.

2468
01:40:48,800 --> 01:40:50,719
» Sharon has a something.

2469
01:40:50,719 --> 01:40:53,280
>> Hi. Uh this is Sharon again. I do have a

2470
01:40:53,280 --> 01:40:55,679
question. Um and it's actually for the

2471
01:40:55,679 --> 01:40:58,080
Vertex gentleman. I've actually been

2472
01:40:58,080 --> 01:41:00,320
injured by this technology.

2473
01:41:00,320 --> 01:41:02,000
And I know other people that have been

2474
01:41:02,000 --> 01:41:04,960
too. And so I'd like to know how this is

2475
01:41:04,960 --> 01:41:06,800
in my public good. When I moved up to

2476
01:41:06,800 --> 01:41:08,960
Rochester to get away from this type of

2477
01:41:08,960 --> 01:41:11,600
stuff and pe people in Pittsfield,

2478
01:41:11,600 --> 01:41:13,840
Massachusetts are suffering from this

2479
01:41:13,840 --> 01:41:16,719
stuff for Verizon not taking the towers

2480
01:41:16,719 --> 01:41:18,480
down after they've caused them health

2481
01:41:18,480 --> 01:41:20,560
issues for the last three to four years.

2482
01:41:20,560 --> 01:41:22,480
I really don't want to have to leave my

2483
01:41:22,480 --> 01:41:24,239
home again. And where you're talking

2484
01:41:24,239 --> 01:41:26,800
about putting this P tower might make

2485
01:41:26,800 --> 01:41:29,360
that have to happen. So, how is this in

2486
01:41:29,360 --> 01:41:31,760
my public good as a person that has been

2487
01:41:31,760 --> 01:41:37,590
injured by this technology?

2488
01:41:37,600 --> 01:41:40,639
» Rochester already has telecommunications

2489
01:41:40,639 --> 01:41:43,280
companies operating right in the

2490
01:41:43,280 --> 01:41:46,080
downtown area and is the most densely

2491
01:41:46,080 --> 01:41:48,320
populated of Rochester. The same

2492
01:41:48,320 --> 01:41:51,119
technology has been deployed thousands

2493
01:41:51,119 --> 01:41:53,360
of times throughout

2494
01:41:53,360 --> 01:41:54,960
uh I mean several hundred times

2495
01:41:54,960 --> 01:41:56,159
throughout New Hampshire, I mean

2496
01:41:56,159 --> 01:41:58,639
Vermont, tens of thousands of places

2497
01:41:58,639 --> 01:42:03,440
nationally. Uh in more densely populated

2498
01:42:03,440 --> 01:42:06,800
areas uh uh sometimes the residential

2499
01:42:06,800 --> 01:42:08,800
buildings are the tallest buildings in

2500
01:42:08,800 --> 01:42:11,440
town. I I I did a project in Worcester,

2501
01:42:11,440 --> 01:42:13,520
Massachusetts where the tallest

2502
01:42:13,520 --> 01:42:14,800
buildings in Worcester were all the

2503
01:42:14,800 --> 01:42:16,159
public housing authority buildings and

2504
01:42:16,159 --> 01:42:18,480
we put antennas on all of those. We've

2505
01:42:18,480 --> 01:42:21,199
lived with this technology for a hundred

2506
01:42:21,199 --> 01:42:24,719
years because it's the same as radio and

2507
01:42:24,719 --> 01:42:27,360
you know the um the fire and police

2508
01:42:27,360 --> 01:42:29,119
chief use a form of radio

2509
01:42:29,119 --> 01:42:30,960
telecommunication that's the same

2510
01:42:30,960 --> 01:42:32,560
technology just a different frequency

2511
01:42:32,560 --> 01:42:35,360
band than what we deploy. So, uh, and

2512
01:42:35,360 --> 01:42:37,520
the bottom line is, um, the federal

2513
01:42:37,520 --> 01:42:39,679
government has deemed it safe. They've

2514
01:42:39,679 --> 01:42:41,760
done a lot of testing. They've, they've,

2515
01:42:41,760 --> 01:42:44,800
in in order to get the public good to

2516
01:42:44,800 --> 01:42:48,480
better deploy, we um, we need more

2517
01:42:48,480 --> 01:42:50,480
telecommunication sites. And the last

2518
01:42:50,480 --> 01:42:52,320
thing I'll point out is I'm not

2519
01:42:52,320 --> 01:42:54,159
proposing something in downtown

2520
01:42:54,159 --> 01:42:56,639
Rochester. I'm proposing something 2,000

2521
01:42:56,639 --> 01:43:01,440
ft off of Route 100 about uh 3/4 of or

2522
01:43:01,440 --> 01:43:04,400
to a mile south of downtown as far away

2523
01:43:04,400 --> 01:43:06,080
as you can get from the population and

2524
01:43:06,080 --> 01:43:08,560
from residential users.

2525
01:43:08,560 --> 01:43:10,800
Still providing great benefit and a

2526
01:43:10,800 --> 01:43:12,719
significant public good without any

2527
01:43:12,719 --> 01:43:15,119
having any effect on any neighboring

2528
01:43:15,119 --> 01:43:26,149
properties.

2529
01:43:26,159 --> 01:43:29,600
I I guess this is a question for Mary

2530
01:43:29,600 --> 01:43:30,159
maybe.

2531
01:43:30,159 --> 01:43:30,960
>> Hi.

2532
01:43:30,960 --> 01:43:35,360
Um so uh you said there will be many

2533
01:43:35,360 --> 01:43:39,840
opportunities to ask uh or to for public

2534
01:43:39,840 --> 01:43:42,880
comments and so

2535
01:43:42,880 --> 01:43:45,760
when would that start? I mean when when

2536
01:43:45,760 --> 01:43:48,080
would that happen?

2537
01:43:48,080 --> 01:43:50,400
>> So okay this is working. I believe and

2538
01:43:50,400 --> 01:43:52,000
I'll go back and check my notes that

2539
01:43:52,000 --> 01:43:55,119
this would be the third opportunity and

2540
01:43:55,119 --> 01:43:56,719
I'm going to be cautious here with my

2541
01:43:56,719 --> 01:43:58,560
public meeting because a meeting versus

2542
01:43:58,560 --> 01:44:00,159
a session versus a hearing are very

2543
01:44:00,159 --> 01:44:02,000
different things but this has been on

2544
01:44:02,000 --> 01:44:04,080
the agenda at the planning commission

2545
01:44:04,080 --> 01:44:05,600
twice

2546
01:44:05,600 --> 01:44:07,520
and uh both of those are public

2547
01:44:07,520 --> 01:44:10,159
documents publicly circulated and the

2548
01:44:10,159 --> 01:44:11,679
minutes are there. This will be the

2549
01:44:11,679 --> 01:44:13,920
third time that we have the planning

2550
01:44:13,920 --> 01:44:15,280
commission or the planning and zoning

2551
01:44:15,280 --> 01:44:18,560
board has created a public space for it.

2552
01:44:18,560 --> 01:44:20,000
And I would like to reiterate that the

2553
01:44:20,000 --> 01:44:23,199
application has not yet been submitted.

2554
01:44:23,199 --> 01:44:25,840
Okay? And so until the application is

2555
01:44:25,840 --> 01:44:28,480
submitted, all of the formal processes

2556
01:44:28,480 --> 01:44:31,199
don't kick in. And so once the

2557
01:44:31,199 --> 01:44:33,600
application is submitted, we will

2558
01:44:33,600 --> 01:44:35,280
continue. And please planning board

2559
01:44:35,280 --> 01:44:37,679
people like I'm speaking for the process

2560
01:44:37,679 --> 01:44:39,440
tonight because that was something that

2561
01:44:39,440 --> 01:44:41,679
I took on to organize. I am not speaking

2562
01:44:41,679 --> 01:44:44,960
for the planning board in total. But so

2563
01:44:44,960 --> 01:44:46,880
what I would say is I believe this is

2564
01:44:46,880 --> 01:44:49,040
the third public opportunity that the

2565
01:44:49,040 --> 01:44:52,320
planning board has created for people to

2566
01:44:52,320 --> 01:44:55,520
learn about ask questions about

2567
01:44:55,520 --> 01:44:57,600
telecommunications permitting. And I

2568
01:44:57,600 --> 01:44:59,760
believe we will continue to offer more

2569
01:44:59,760 --> 01:45:02,960
as we go through this 60 to 180day

2570
01:45:02,960 --> 01:45:06,400
process. And I would like to try and

2571
01:45:06,400 --> 01:45:08,080
continue to bend over backwards to make

2572
01:45:08,080 --> 01:45:10,320
them as accessible as possible, learn

2573
01:45:10,320 --> 01:45:13,840
from what people have said and um

2574
01:45:13,840 --> 01:45:15,679
make there be a single point you can go

2575
01:45:15,679 --> 01:45:18,000
for the documents. Um so that's where

2576
01:45:18,000 --> 01:45:21,040
I'm going. Well, well, I have a I mean

2577
01:45:21,040 --> 01:45:23,600
more question about this because there

2578
01:45:23,600 --> 01:45:27,119
there's like this in this particular um

2579
01:45:27,119 --> 01:45:30,000
opportunity that we had. It was about it

2580
01:45:30,000 --> 01:45:32,400
was about asking questions. Maybe some

2581
01:45:32,400 --> 01:45:35,760
of some of us have information that we

2582
01:45:35,760 --> 01:45:38,480
want to give in anformational

2583
01:45:38,480 --> 01:45:39,119
venue.

2584
01:45:39,119 --> 01:45:42,080
>> Yep. And I and I believe that that is

2585
01:45:42,080 --> 01:45:46,560
the a next step for us is to is is for

2586
01:45:46,560 --> 01:45:48,000
something like that. Right. Part of what

2587
01:45:48,000 --> 01:45:50,639
we want to do is to be very targeted

2588
01:45:50,639 --> 01:45:53,199
with what our goals and purposes are for

2589
01:45:53,199 --> 01:45:55,280
each meeting so that people can best

2590
01:45:55,280 --> 01:45:58,239
decide how to deal with the information.

2591
01:45:58,239 --> 01:45:59,760
So I agree with you and I think that's

2592
01:45:59,760 --> 01:46:01,520
something that we're looking forward to

2593
01:46:01,520 --> 01:46:04,320
with future opportunities is to think

2594
01:46:04,320 --> 01:46:07,280
about what other information people from

2595
01:46:07,280 --> 01:46:11,040
the town want us to help them access. So

2596
01:46:11,040 --> 01:46:13,360
I would I does that answer your

2597
01:46:13,360 --> 01:46:14,320
question?

2598
01:46:14,320 --> 01:46:22,560
>> I think so. I hope so. except for um if we would if some of us would like to

2599
01:46:22,560 --> 01:46:26,080
propose other kinds of experts

2600
01:46:26,080 --> 01:46:28,639
perhaps. Is that a possibility?

2601
01:46:28,639 --> 01:46:30,239
>> Uh yes.

2602
01:46:30,239 --> 01:46:31,920
>> And how would we go about doing that?

2603
01:46:31,920 --> 01:46:34,639
>> Um so I would contact a we can talk

2604
01:46:34,639 --> 01:46:36,159
about it after the meeting tonight. Um,

2605
01:46:36,159 --> 01:46:38,480
but B, I would send an email, and I did

2606
01:46:38,480 --> 01:46:39,679
get your email, but I would send an

2607
01:46:39,679 --> 01:46:41,920
email to the Rochester VT planning

2608
01:46:41,920 --> 01:46:43,679
commission@gmail.com,

2609
01:46:43,679 --> 01:46:46,800
and I would say um

2610
01:46:46,800 --> 01:46:48,800
that you would like I I'll think about

2611
01:46:48,800 --> 01:46:51,920
how to word this, but who who you think

2612
01:46:51,920 --> 01:46:54,639
we should listen to, why you think we

2613
01:46:54,639 --> 01:46:56,800
should listen to them, suggestions you

2614
01:46:56,800 --> 01:46:59,360
might have for for how we could um

2615
01:46:59,360 --> 01:47:01,840
connect people with that person, and and

2616
01:47:01,840 --> 01:47:03,360
we'll talk about it a little more

2617
01:47:03,360 --> 01:47:05,679
because I I will emphasize, right, we

2618
01:47:05,679 --> 01:47:08,159
are making this process up as we go

2619
01:47:08,159 --> 01:47:11,760
along and so I do take your suggestions

2620
01:47:11,760 --> 01:47:14,400
very seriously for how to change the

2621
01:47:14,400 --> 01:47:15,920
formats going forward.

2622
01:47:15,920 --> 01:47:16,880
>> Okay. Thank you.

2623
01:47:16,880 --> 01:47:19,679
>> Scott has a comment on this.

2624
01:47:19,679 --> 01:47:22,239
>> Um just speaking of the balloon test

2625
01:47:22,239 --> 01:47:23,679
that we're going to schedule that, you

2626
01:47:23,679 --> 01:47:25,040
know, I will be on site for with my

2627
01:47:25,040 --> 01:47:26,960
staff. Two other things came to mind.

2628
01:47:26,960 --> 01:47:29,840
Uh, number one, with respect to the

2629
01:47:29,840 --> 01:47:32,000
tower itself, the physical tower, not

2630
01:47:32,000 --> 01:47:33,760
the attachment mounts that are roughly

2631
01:47:33,760 --> 01:47:36,320
12 feet wide, but the tower is typically

2632
01:47:36,320 --> 01:47:40,239
5 feet in width. So again, that's very

2633
01:47:40,239 --> 01:47:42,320
close to the di the typical diameter of

2634
01:47:42,320 --> 01:47:44,800
the balloon in question. So the the

2635
01:47:44,800 --> 01:47:47,040
balloon is very representational of the

2636
01:47:47,040 --> 01:47:49,280
tower face and all of this stuff is to

2637
01:47:49,280 --> 01:47:50,800
scale. We have detailed engineering

2638
01:47:50,800 --> 01:47:53,440
drawings for these towers. So, you know,

2639
01:47:53,440 --> 01:47:55,600
we can quickly make sure that this is a

2640
01:47:55,600 --> 01:47:57,920
very accurate representation as close as

2641
01:47:57,920 --> 01:48:01,360
humanly possible given what we have um

2642
01:48:01,360 --> 01:48:03,360
and the again the face width of 12 ft.

2643
01:48:03,360 --> 01:48:05,280
But if there's key locations that people

2644
01:48:05,280 --> 01:48:07,440
want us to consider, it's helpful for me

2645
01:48:07,440 --> 01:48:09,840
to know ahead of time what the you know

2646
01:48:09,840 --> 01:48:11,280
for the planning commission there or the

2647
01:48:11,280 --> 01:48:13,760
town there to provide Fran and myself a

2648
01:48:13,760 --> 01:48:16,320
list of in of other locations that we

2649
01:48:16,320 --> 01:48:18,400
haven't taken photos from. And believe

2650
01:48:18,400 --> 01:48:19,600
it or not, we actually took more

2651
01:48:19,600 --> 01:48:21,679
locations than than is shown on that

2652
01:48:21,679 --> 01:48:23,520
map. We while the balloon was up for

2653
01:48:23,520 --> 01:48:26,080
hours, I literally did it myself. I

2654
01:48:26,080 --> 01:48:28,400
drove the town trying to find it and I

2655
01:48:28,400 --> 01:48:30,560
went basically a mile in all directions

2656
01:48:30,560 --> 01:48:33,199
because once you get behind a mile, if

2657
01:48:33,199 --> 01:48:34,800
you can see it from another mountaintop,

2658
01:48:34,800 --> 01:48:36,639
it's like looking at at the tower on top

2659
01:48:36,639 --> 01:48:38,400
of Mount Washington. It's a dot. It's

2660
01:48:38,400 --> 01:48:40,960
like a speck. It's it's it's almost

2661
01:48:40,960 --> 01:48:42,480
impossible to really simulate because

2662
01:48:42,480 --> 01:48:45,840
it's a speck. Um, so usually I I stick

2663
01:48:45,840 --> 01:48:47,600
to within a mile radius when I'm when

2664
01:48:47,600 --> 01:48:49,280
I'm driving trying to drive around the

2665
01:48:49,280 --> 01:48:52,719
block. here the block is quite large. So

2666
01:48:52,719 --> 01:48:54,639
the eastern side of the site, you know,

2667
01:48:54,639 --> 01:48:56,239
it's probably three miles away, you

2668
01:48:56,239 --> 01:48:57,760
know, to get to the next closest road

2669
01:48:57,760 --> 01:49:00,080
that that direction. And the closest

2670
01:49:00,080 --> 01:49:01,679
residential house, just because it came

2671
01:49:01,679 --> 01:49:04,000
up, is it in the area of about 1,800 ft

2672
01:49:04,000 --> 01:49:06,400
away from this tower. Um, and that

2673
01:49:06,400 --> 01:49:08,960
that's unusual. That's that's actually a

2674
01:49:08,960 --> 01:49:11,280
pretty big distance, you know, um, from

2675
01:49:11,280 --> 01:49:26,709
typical standards.

2676
01:49:26,719 --> 01:49:28,719
This is just a dumb question, but is

2677
01:49:28,719 --> 01:49:30,800
this going to have a flashing light on

2678
01:49:30,800 --> 01:49:32,960
top of the tower?

2679
01:49:32,960 --> 01:49:35,280
>> Not a dumb question. And the answer is

2680
01:49:35,280 --> 01:49:39,760
no. Um, I know the short answer is no. I

2681
01:49:39,760 --> 01:49:41,520
think I gave way too many long answers.

2682
01:49:41,520 --> 01:49:43,520
So,

2683
01:49:43,520 --> 01:49:44,719
>> you have another question.

2684
01:49:44,719 --> 01:49:48,320
>> Yeah. on um regarding the the public

2685
01:49:48,320 --> 01:49:50,560
good because I I have the the regional

2686
01:49:50,560 --> 01:49:52,719
plan the Two Rivers Adquichi regional

2687
01:49:52,719 --> 01:49:54,400
plan in front of me and it it's pretty

2688
01:49:54,400 --> 01:49:56,000
clear. It says the use of the region's

2689
01:49:56,000 --> 01:49:58,960
ridges for telecommunication towers and

2690
01:49:58,960 --> 01:50:00,400
related facilities needs to be

2691
01:50:00,400 --> 01:50:02,000
undertaken in a manner that will not

2692
01:50:02,000 --> 01:50:04,800
unduly detract from nor adversely affect

2693
01:50:04,800 --> 01:50:07,040
these scenic values. Protections

2694
01:50:07,040 --> 01:50:09,040
protection of these areas from

2695
01:50:09,040 --> 01:50:12,639
developments is a matter of public good.

2696
01:50:12,639 --> 01:50:15,840
Did Vertex refer to the regional plan

2697
01:50:15,840 --> 01:50:17,600
for this area?

2698
01:50:17,600 --> 01:50:20,320
>> We're not on the top of a ridge and

2699
01:50:20,320 --> 01:50:21,920
we're very conscious of that. If you

2700
01:50:21,920 --> 01:50:24,960
look past it, goes thousands of feet

2701
01:50:24,960 --> 01:50:26,000
higher and

2702
01:50:26,000 --> 01:50:28,000
>> Oh, no. You're definitely on a ridgetop

2703
01:50:28,000 --> 01:50:30,480
at that site. That's totally incorrect

2704
01:50:30,480 --> 01:50:33,119
to say. I I read maps for a living and

2705
01:50:33,119 --> 01:50:34,560
>> you're you're at a high point or you

2706
01:50:34,560 --> 01:50:36,239
wouldn't put it there. It's line of

2707
01:50:36,239 --> 01:50:37,600
sight technology, so you have to put it

2708
01:50:37,600 --> 01:50:39,679
on high points. I I understand that, but

2709
01:50:39,679 --> 01:50:41,679
it it's but when we look at it from the

2710
01:50:41,679 --> 01:50:46,000
route 100, it's it's not in a position

2711
01:50:46,000 --> 01:50:49,199
where it it projects significantly

2712
01:50:49,199 --> 01:50:51,520
farther above the ridge and by reducing

2713
01:50:51,520 --> 01:50:53,040
it down, we don't think you're going to

2714
01:50:53,040 --> 01:50:55,119
see it above the tree line.

2715
01:50:55,119 --> 01:50:56,560
>> I understand that, but this talks about

2716
01:50:56,560 --> 01:50:58,320
ridgetop development and you're on a

2717
01:50:58,320 --> 01:51:00,639
ridge. Did you refer Did Vertex refer to

2718
01:51:00,639 --> 01:51:02,159
the regional plan? That that was my

2719
01:51:02,159 --> 01:51:04,159
question. Yes, we look at the regional

2720
01:51:04,159 --> 01:51:05,840
plan. We look at the town's plan. We

2721
01:51:05,840 --> 01:51:08,080
look at the town zoning bylaw. We look

2722
01:51:08,080 --> 01:51:11,679
at the PUC regulations. Uh the um the

2723
01:51:11,679 --> 01:51:14,639
problem is is that I can't appease

2724
01:51:14,639 --> 01:51:17,520
everybody. And I've got multiple people

2725
01:51:17,520 --> 01:51:19,199
here saying I should have built it

2726
01:51:19,199 --> 01:51:22,080
taller. I've got people at the last time

2727
01:51:22,080 --> 01:51:24,560
said I should have built it um so that

2728
01:51:24,560 --> 01:51:26,960
you can't make it visible. I I have the

2729
01:51:26,960 --> 01:51:29,360
RF engineers at home saying it's got to

2730
01:51:29,360 --> 01:51:30,880
be a requisite height to provide the

2731
01:51:30,880 --> 01:51:33,840
signal or it has no benefit to the town.

2732
01:51:33,840 --> 01:51:36,080
So we try very hard and we've looked at

2733
01:51:36,080 --> 01:51:39,599
all these things and uh um and and I

2734
01:51:39,599 --> 01:51:42,800
believe that u that we are compliant.

2735
01:51:42,800 --> 01:51:45,199
You know you you said that that the

2736
01:51:45,199 --> 01:51:48,239
standard is an undue adverse impact. It

2737
01:51:48,239 --> 01:51:52,159
doesn't say invisible. And so we don't

2738
01:51:52,159 --> 01:51:54,159
believe that we have an undue adverse

2739
01:51:54,159 --> 01:51:56,400
impact in compliance with the regional

2740
01:51:56,400 --> 01:51:59,040
policy plan with the town zoning bylaw

2741
01:51:59,040 --> 01:52:02,159
and the town's plans and that the PUC

2742
01:52:02,159 --> 01:52:02,960
regulations.

2743
01:52:02,960 --> 01:52:05,280
>> Well, no, it actually says not detract

2744
01:52:05,280 --> 01:52:07,840
from or adversely affect the scenic

2745
01:52:07,840 --> 01:52:09,040
values. I

2746
01:52:09,040 --> 01:52:10,239
>> is what the regional plans.

2747
01:52:10,239 --> 01:52:12,400
>> We we are quite confident that we do not

2748
01:52:12,400 --> 01:52:15,199
detract or undo.

2749
01:52:15,199 --> 01:52:23,589
>> Okay, I understand. Thank you.

2750
01:52:23,599 --> 01:52:26,239
Okay. Jake Wildwood again. Uh, Vert.Ex

2751
01:52:26,239 --> 01:52:28,719
has a history of suing towns and public

2752
01:52:28,719 --> 01:52:30,320
utility commissions when you don't get

2753
01:52:30,320 --> 01:52:32,320
the answer you want. Is that sort of

2754
01:52:32,320 --> 01:52:35,760
what we're expecting here?

2755
01:52:35,760 --> 01:52:37,920
>> We expect the public utilities

2756
01:52:37,920 --> 01:52:39,840
commission to issue a certificate of

2757
01:52:39,840 --> 01:52:40,560
public good.

2758
01:52:40,560 --> 01:52:45,669
>> And if not, will you just go away?

2759
01:52:45,679 --> 01:52:47,199
» I'm not trying to be mean. I just want

2760
01:52:47,199 --> 01:52:48,639
to know what's going to happen.

2761
01:52:48,639 --> 01:52:51,280
>> I don't want to project that firehead.

2762
01:52:51,280 --> 01:52:53,599
I'm like I said, we've designed a site

2763
01:52:53,599 --> 01:52:55,360
compliant with all the regulations and

2764
01:52:55,360 --> 01:52:57,199
we expect a certificate of public good.

2765
01:52:57,199 --> 01:53:02,629
>> Thanks.

2766
01:53:02,639 --> 01:53:04,639
» Before we hang up, I want to talk about

2767
01:53:04,639 --> 01:53:07,360
the date of the balloon.

2768
01:53:07,360 --> 01:53:09,440
>> I want to ask a question if I may. Can

2769
01:53:09,440 --> 01:53:12,080
you hear me? Okay. Um

2770
01:53:12,080 --> 01:53:16,080
uh so now under the um 248 it's a

2771
01:53:16,080 --> 01:53:18,880
limited project where it was a full

2772
01:53:18,880 --> 01:53:20,480
>> limit limited size and scale. Yes,

2773
01:53:20,480 --> 01:53:23,280
>> limited size and scale. Um and I in

2774
01:53:23,280 --> 01:53:25,760
reading the the the primer there. I

2775
01:53:25,760 --> 01:53:28,000
couldn't quite tell if the analysis that

2776
01:53:28,000 --> 01:53:31,840
PUC does is the same. Um the the limited

2777
01:53:31,840 --> 01:53:34,480
size and scale didn't talk about the

2778
01:53:34,480 --> 01:53:36,639
criteria, but it did say something about

2779
01:53:36,639 --> 01:53:40,400
significant issues. Do you know if or

2780
01:53:40,400 --> 01:53:42,800
regional planning folks know that the

2781
01:53:42,800 --> 01:53:44,960
difference between those two processes?

2782
01:53:44,960 --> 01:53:48,080
>> It it's the same criteria but there's

2783
01:53:48,080 --> 01:53:50,480
different presumptions like there's

2784
01:53:50,480 --> 01:53:53,760
certain criteria that don't apply to

2785
01:53:53,760 --> 01:53:55,599
these type of like air quality for

2786
01:53:55,599 --> 01:53:58,800
example there's no air issues. However,

2787
01:53:58,800 --> 01:54:01,119
u before we had to put in affidavits to

2788
01:54:01,119 --> 01:54:03,280
say there's no impact on air quality.

2789
01:54:03,280 --> 01:54:04,960
Now because it's limited size and scale

2790
01:54:04,960 --> 01:54:08,320
we don't. uh uh things like that uh

2791
01:54:08,320 --> 01:54:10,159
things that don't there's no impact on

2792
01:54:10,159 --> 01:54:12,800
traffic for example but before I used to

2793
01:54:12,800 --> 01:54:15,360
have to get a traffic study now we don't

2794
01:54:15,360 --> 01:54:16,719
because there's a presumption because

2795
01:54:16,719 --> 01:54:18,960
it's limited that there's no uh impact

2796
01:54:18,960 --> 01:54:22,639
on traffic things like that

2797
01:54:22,639 --> 01:54:25,920
>> do you want to do

2798
01:54:25,920 --> 01:54:28,639
>> I'll do a wrap

2799
01:54:28,639 --> 01:54:30,639
>> uh okay so we're going to wrap it up for

2800
01:54:30,639 --> 01:54:33,119
tonight um if you are physically here

2801
01:54:33,119 --> 01:54:35,199
and I know many of you were on Zoom so

2802
01:54:35,199 --> 01:54:36,560
this does not apply. But if you were

2803
01:54:36,560 --> 01:54:39,119
physically here, um just drop and you

2804
01:54:39,119 --> 01:54:41,679
picked up a comment form, a bulletin,

2805
01:54:41,679 --> 01:54:43,280
not a bulletin board, a clipboard, a

2806
01:54:43,280 --> 01:54:45,119
pen, just drop it on the table or on the

2807
01:54:45,119 --> 01:54:46,639
empty boxes under the table on your way

2808
01:54:46,639 --> 01:54:48,960
out and we will uh take those written

2809
01:54:48,960 --> 01:54:50,800
comments and gather them all into a

2810
01:54:50,800 --> 01:54:52,239
document to share amongst the planning

2811
01:54:52,239 --> 01:54:54,880
commission and to turn into a fact sheet

2812
01:54:54,880 --> 01:54:56,400
so that I can start coating the

2813
01:54:56,400 --> 01:54:58,800
frequently asked questions, putting

2814
01:54:58,800 --> 01:55:00,880
answers to them and putting them up as a

2815
01:55:00,880 --> 01:55:02,639
publicly available document for people

2816
01:55:02,639 --> 01:55:04,400
who are coming into this process as it

2817
01:55:04,400 --> 01:55:05,520
goes forward.

2818
01:55:05,520 --> 01:55:08,800
Um and um

2819
01:55:08,800 --> 01:55:11,280
I suppose if you if anybody if any

2820
01:55:11,280 --> 01:55:12,800
individual person has a question, a

2821
01:55:12,800 --> 01:55:14,400
comment or a suggestion about the

2822
01:55:14,400 --> 01:55:16,960
process that they'd like to uh make in

2823
01:55:16,960 --> 01:55:18,480
person, I'll hang out for a few minutes

2824
01:55:18,480 --> 01:55:20,400
tonight. But otherwise, thank you very

2825
01:55:20,400 --> 01:55:21,679
much for coming. Thank you for my

2826
01:55:21,679 --> 01:55:23,840
patience with my insistence on process

2827
01:55:23,840 --> 01:55:26,560
and Christine's going to say something.

2828
01:55:26,560 --> 01:55:28,719
>> So, thank you all for coming. I just

2829
01:55:28,719 --> 01:55:31,599
want to point out how much time and

2830
01:55:31,599 --> 01:55:34,639
effort Mary put into making this event

2831
01:55:34,639 --> 01:55:38,800
happen for you. It was not it was

2832
01:55:38,800 --> 01:55:40,960
voluntary, completely voluntary because

2833
01:55:40,960 --> 01:55:43,440
we as a commission re really want to

2834
01:55:43,440 --> 01:55:45,599
make sure you know the information and

2835
01:55:45,599 --> 01:55:47,840
have an idea of what to do with it. So

2836
01:55:47,840 --> 01:55:49,840
can we give Mary and Greg a round of

2837
01:55:49,840 --> 01:55:53,669
applause for all that they

2838
01:55:53,679 --> 01:55:55,679
all

2839
01:55:55,679 --> 01:55:58,800
>> Mary who wanted to talk about the date

2840
01:55:58,800 --> 01:56:02,400
and just um terms of the process uh at

2841
01:56:02,400 --> 01:56:05,280
this point we'll be answering questions

2842
01:56:05,280 --> 01:56:08,239
u from through email

2843
01:56:08,239 --> 01:56:10,960
sharing information um if we get the

2844
01:56:10,960 --> 01:56:14,480
website set up we'll put um Fran's

2845
01:56:14,480 --> 01:56:16,960
presentation up there and all the other

2846
01:56:16,960 --> 01:56:18,480
documents ments that they've provided

2847
01:56:18,480 --> 01:56:20,800
with that you can also get from the PUC

2848
01:56:20,800 --> 01:56:26,320
website and then once there is a U um

2849
01:56:26,320 --> 01:56:28,880
application then we'll go through this

2850
01:56:28,880 --> 01:56:31,040
again and then you'll have then you'll

2851
01:56:31,040 --> 01:56:32,960
have real opportunities to stand up and

2852
01:56:32,960 --> 01:56:35,679
speak your mind about what what this

2853
01:56:35,679 --> 01:56:38,719
means to you.

2854
01:56:38,719 --> 01:56:41,280
>> Thank you very much everybody. Can can I

2855
01:56:41,280 --> 01:56:42,639
just I just want to talk about the

2856
01:56:42,639 --> 01:56:44,159
balloon and the issue I I would have

2857
01:56:44,159 --> 01:56:46,159
come in with a prepackaged date but the

2858
01:56:46,159 --> 01:56:47,599
problem is is that we have an election

2859
01:56:47,599 --> 01:56:48,480
in a couple

2860
01:56:48,480 --> 01:56:50,320
>> Francis what I would say is let's figure

2861
01:56:50,320 --> 01:56:51,760
out the date and then we can tell

2862
01:56:51,760 --> 01:56:53,119
everybody but rather than keeping

2863
01:56:53,119 --> 01:56:54,239
everybody here past 8.

2864
01:56:54,239 --> 01:56:54,719
>> That's fine.

2865
01:56:54,719 --> 01:56:57,599
>> Okay. Thanks very much everybody.

2866
01:56:57,599 --> 01:57:05,010
close.

2867
01:57:05,020 --> 01:57:22,740
[Music]