Plans are underway to construct a network of communications towers in Saint Charles County, MO to help with public safety. The overall plan calls for 35 new towers of various heights with the largest standing over 400-feet tall. The $120 million project seeks to eliminate dead zones across the region. Some sites do not appear to have generated any controversy, reports Tucson.com, but others have sparked negative reactions from some residents.
“This is some of the prettiest country we have around here,” said David Dempsey, a property tax consultant from Ladue, who lives near a proposed 450-foot cell tower. “It’s going to be more visible than the Gateway Arch.”
Dempsey and others have asked if county officials and Motorola can make the communications structures less prominent. Residents have also complained about poor communications regarding the selected sites, and potential threats to their home values.
The extensive plans place some towers on municipal property and unincorporated parts of the county, but Motorola said that it would be impossible to keep the necessary elevation of the towers without making them clearly visible in some locations. A series of smaller towers, they advised, would not adequately address coverage needs, according to Tucson.com.
Speaking in support of the communications improvements, former paramedic and firefighter Mike Dinello said, “You don’t know what it’s like on a cold and rainy night with a cardiac patient and you can’t talk with your command center.”
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