Story posted Thursday, January 28, 2010
Village: No Antennas On Water Tower
By CRAIG ADAMS Journal & Topics Reporter
Wheeling trustees on Monday, Jan. 25 agreed that there should be no cellular telephone antennas constructed on the water tower at Center Street and Milwaukee Avenue.
Trustees heard from Tony Stavros, director of public works, who explained how antennas can limit access around the tank and how cables and mounting devices can prohibit the cleaning or painting of the tanks. He also told trustees how installation could damage the interior and exterior coatings of a tank.
Specifically, Stavros asked trustees to prohibit antennas for the Center Street tower to not destroy the look of the tower. "When you saw that tower, you knew you were in Wheeling," he told them.
"That tower is a landmark," Stavros said on Wednesday, Jan. 27. "To muck it up with a bunch of cell tower antennas on it... isn't right."
He explained the village spent several million dollars on improvements in the area. "That tower is to stay as it is," he said.
Trustees agreed that other village towers could still be considered for antennas, although they seemed more amiable to free standing towers or disguised towers such as flagpoles.
Stavros also talked about cell towers disguised as trees, pictures of which are easily searchable online. "Out in Nevada, that's all they allow," he said.
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