by Deb Alter
Bouncelinx, the wireless broadband company that has proposed installing a system that will help Hoosick have high-speed internet and better cell service came to the Town of Hoosick Zoning Board of Appeals hoping to get a permit to put up a tower to supply broadband internet service in the Town. [private]They had hoped to first install a mobile tower on the site immediately while they were going through the process of getting a permit for a permanent tower. The ZBA, however, said a permit would be required for any kind of tower, so Bouncelinx will skip the temporary tower and seek the special permit and variance for the permanent tower.
John Carnett, the Bouncelinx representative, said the tower will be 120 feet tall, much shorter than cell towers, and will be located on property adjacent to 150 Ford’s Road in West Hoosick, in an area that is already cleared because it is rock, with setbacks of over 1,000 feet from the property lines. There will be two small rectangular attachments and a two-foot-diameter “dish.” Other dishes will be installed around Town on already existing “vertical assets” like silos and pre-existing poles. The tower will have its own solar power and be held up by three guy lines. There will also be a small pre-fabricated building on the site. Bouncelinx’s application for a special permit and variance was accepted. There will be a Public Hearing on the issue on July 6 at 7:15 pm at the Armory.
Although disappointed by the delay caused by the Board’s ruling on his proposed temporary tower, Carnett was optimistic after the meeting. “We can start installing the dishes in the vertical assets now, and be ready to put up the tower as soon as we get the okay,” Carnett said. “In order to be able to bring high speed broadband to Hoosick residents as soon as possible, we thought that the mobile tower could be the answer. We didn’t find anything in the laws we looked at that required a permit for it, and we thought it would be a quick solution. But in the end, it wasn’t a ‘fight’ we wanted to have. It’s only a 30 day delay, and we can get all the pieces in place in the meantime,” he concluded.
The Zoning Board also heard a presentation for a solar installation at Hoosac School. An engineer from Enlighten Power Solutions presented a proposal for a solar system to be located and used by the Hoosac campus. There will be a Public Hearing on July 6 at 7 pm. Leo Surdam’s site plan proposal for a set-back variance for a garage was approved. A presentation was also made concerning a storage unit in Hoosick near the Vermont border.[/private]