As voters gathered in Cronin Auditorium for Special Town Meeting (STM) last week, the Board of Selectmen made a last-minute decision to pull Article 7 from the warrant. If passed, the article would have authorized the Selectmen to lease town-owned property for construction and operation of a wireless communication tower, antennae, and related equipment. The two town parcels in question are a secluded 16-acre site off Bolton Road where the town water tower is located, and 5.6 acres on the hill behind Town Hall, where Hildreth House, Harvard’s senior center, has stood for more than a hundred years.
Unanswered questions
In announcing the decision to postpone a vote until Annual Town Meeting in April, Selectman Stu Sklar explained that board members were concerned that many townspeople might be “caught unaware” by the article, which has not been widely discussed. Although the two potential sites had been identified in general terms at several Selectmen’s meetings, they were not stipulated in the printed warrant article, nor were locus maps readily available before STM.
Selectwoman Lucy Wallace said this week that she had several concerns, including confusion about whether the tower would be considered a commercial or a municipal tower, and she had finally concluded that a vote on the article now would be premature.
In addition, board Chairwoman Marie Sobalvarro said her vote was influenced by “many concerns raised by the public” and by the board’s “inability to say conclusively when the public would get to weigh in on this proposal.”
Both sites already in RFPs
At the Selectmen’s meeting Tuesday night, 24 hours before the Oct. 16 STM, the board briefly considered dropping the Hildreth property from consideration as a possible cell tower site. Selectwoman Wallace suggested that “push-back” from townspeople about the prospect of a cell tower on the highly visible Hildreth land near the Common might “threaten the whole thing.” Board member Leo Blair also wondered why the town would offer a choice of sites when the water tower site appeared to be preferable.
But Sobalvarro reminded her colleagues that both sites were included in the RFPs (Requests for Proposals) that had already been sent out. Board members also noted that some residents might object to the Bolton Road site as much as others oppose the Hildreth site.
COA pushes back
At its meeting Monday afternoon, five days after STM, the Harvard Council on Aging Board of Directors weighed in on the idea of a cell tower anywhere near Hildreth House. Board members agreed that construction of a cell tower on that property would have a detrimental impact on their plans to renovate and expand the building in the near future. Member Katie Petrossi ticked off a list of concerns that could directly interfere with any expansion plan, including plans for walking trails and gardens near the senior center: “How much land would it [the cell tower] take up? What access is required and where would it be? What about fencing and maintenance requirements?”
For board member Hank Fitek, the issue was safety. Fitek alluded to reports of ice and other debris falling from cell towers, and lightning and wind hazards, which could pose a threat to Hildreth House users whether or not the proposed building project goes forward.
The board agreed to communicate to the Selectmen, both by letter and through its liaison Lucy Wallace, that it wants to be included in any future discussion and/or decision-making about a cell tower on the Hildreth property.
Connie Larrabee is a member of Board of Directors of the Council on Aging.
