A New Canaan, CT Selectman wants to establish a Utilities Commission in response to a cell tower proposal on school property, reported The New Canaanite. During a recent board meeting, Nick Williams noted that the Town Code requires the establishment of a six-member Commission to “monitor the activities and operations of public and private utilities servicing the residents and businesses of New Canaan…and ensure the needs of residences and businesses are adequately met…that consumers’ interests are represented before any applicable commission or agency having jurisdiction over the utility in question.”
According to Williams, the dormant Commission’s role “would encompass cell phone towers, which I am increasingly coming to the belief that these are antiquated things—150-foot-tall monopoles or whatever you call it—for my purposes seem outdated.” He added, “To be clear, I’m not coming out against the West School tower. What I’m coming out for is to reconstitute the Utilities Commission.”
According to The New Canaanite, the $500,000 monopole project proposed by Verizon is slated to be constructed behind the West School and is currently under review with the Town Council. Besides Williams’ suggestion for oversight by a Commission, a petition with over 700 signatures opposes the tower project, which would allow for co-location with AT&T to start.
As for the Utilities Commission, the last meeting on the books for the previous volunteers was in December 2018. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said that the mission is over three decades old, outdated and can only be updated by the Town Council.
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