Man Runs for Mayor After Tower was Denied

There’s a new mayor in Perryville, Arkansas. Mayor John Roland won the city’s election in November, after deciding to run when the City Council denied a permit for a Verizon cell tower. The City Council was at a standstill with a tie that the previous mayor broke by denying the proposal. This upset Roland greatly as he believes the cell tower is important for many reasons, from assisting residents to business. “A lot of fire departments, this is very vital for their fire protection to have communication — that [cellphone tower] would enhance their ability to have better cell service out that way,” he said. “As you go west from Perryville, toward Nimrod, you lose reception. Cell service is very vital, in my opinion.” (River Valley & Ozark) The reason for the previous denial was that the tower site location was zoned residential, and towers are considered a business in the city limits. Roland doesn’t consider cell towers to be businesses, and plans to address the zoning issues. “I’m progressive. I want to help bring the city more up to date. I’d like to work on the infrastructure, which has been neglected for years. The water and sewer lines date back to the ’50s. To me, I want to look to the future — prepare instead of waiting till it breaks down.” (River Valley & Ozark)