Date: Fri 03-Sep-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

antenna-deal-Meeting-House

Full Text:

Antenna Deal Gives Rooster Something To Crow About

BY STEVE BIGHAM

The Board of Selectmen Monday voted in favor of a lease agreement with a

cellular phone company looking to erect an antenna beneath Newtown's famous

rooster weathervane inside the Meeting House steeple on Main Street.

A spokesperson from OmniPoint Communications, Inc said the non-microwave

antenna would be hidden from view and would bring in $18,000 in annual revenue

for the town. A radio transmitter box, about the size of a freezer, would also

be located on the site.

"That's $18,000 we didn't have before," noted Selectman Bill Brimmer.

Also, a second or even third antenna may also be installed, doubling or

tripling the amount of revenue brought in, according to the company's

proposal.

"It seems like a win-win," said First Selectman Herb Rosenthal.

The antenna would add to OmniPoint's capacity and fill in some of the "gaps"

in local cellular service. OmniPoint, whose service arrived in this area 18

months ago, initially proposed the antenna to Trinity Church, which turned

down the offer.

The antenna plan must still receive final approval from the Planning & Zoning

Commission, as well as building permits.

The Heritage Preservation Trust, which leases the building from the town,

approved the request and proposed lease plan last week. However, the ultimate

decision lay with the selectmen.

The first selectman credited Heritage Preservation Trust president Donald

Studley for his keen negotiating skills in regards to the lease plan,

bargaining a few thousand dollars extra for the town.

While the Heritage Preservation Trust pays just $1 a year in rent, it has

spent a total of $275,000 in renovations to the building since 1988. The trust

recently spent $103,000 in building renovations. The town accepted the Meeting

House as a gift from the Congregational Church 11 years ago and immediately

entered into a 50-year lease agreement with the Preservation Trust.