Sisters will get better cell coverage

Two telecommunications companies won approval to improve their cell phone service from the Sisters Urban Area Planning Commission last Thursday.

T-Mobile West Corporation applied to construct a 120-foot-tall tower to replace an existing 75-foot light pole which holds football field lights at Reed Stadium. The lights would then be transferred to the new pole.

For T-Mobile, the third time was the charm. The October meeting was cancelled due to lack of quorum, and commissioners didn't feel prepared to decide at November's meeting. However, this month commissioners had toured the site and were prepared to approve the tower with some conditions.

T-Mobile will be required to build a taller fence around the equipment on the ground and to screen the fence with landscaping.

Only one member of the public came to the meeting. Developer Curt Kallberg spoke, as he did at last month's meeting, in opposition to the tower because he said it would negatively impact the views for future residents of his subdivision called McKenzie Meadows.

T-Mobile gave commissioners one additional piece of information at the meeting which was a tree survey showing nearby trees at heights approaching 120 feet.

Commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of the project.

The T-Mobile tower is designed to allow two additional carriers to use the same pole. The Sisters School District will receive a leasing fee for the use of their property.

The second telecommunications applicant was Unicel. That application approached cell phone coverage differently. Unicel wants to install two antenna arrays on the Heritage building at the corner of South Pine Street and Hood Avenue. The antennas would be mounted on poles extending 10 feet above the top of the building.

With no public comment, commissioners quickly decided to approve Unicel's application unanimously.

City Planning Director Brian Rankin pointed out that both companies had to "fight the ponderosas" in order to expand their coverage.

"The big point of these cell towers is to have in-building coverage - especially in the west side and downtown," said Rankin.

Rankin noted it was ironic that the last issues the planning commission heard in the old City Hall were modern telecommunications issues. January's meeting will be held in the new City Hall.