Water Tower Antennae
The outgoing council is set to consider a proposal from Alltel to permanently place cellular phone antennae on Marfa's water tower. As I mentioned earlier, I have heard that the contract is not ready. I am not sure why the business is being rushed. Either somebody on council really wanted this on the agenda before they left or the administrator is looking to complete the deal quickly. I heard today that the item will be postponed because it is not ready.
I recently passed through Van Horn and saw their water tower. I asked Larry Simpson of the Van Horn Advocate to snap a photo for me. I recognize that rental of space on the tower is a viable source of revenue for a small town. Van Horn has taken this approach. Marfa has two water towers to consider. There is also a tower farm west of Marfa. So there are many options.
It is important to consider the importance of the historic look of our water tower because it is located in the middle of town next to the courthouse. So I want to show the Van Horn water tower and the Marfa water tower so that people can see what the tower could look like if we start down this path. This is an important decision that affects the entire town. Citizen input should be seriously considered. A public hearing would be reasonable so that the revenue and aesthetic tradeoffs can be discussed.
I recently passed through Van Horn and saw their water tower. I asked Larry Simpson of the Van Horn Advocate to snap a photo for me. I recognize that rental of space on the tower is a viable source of revenue for a small town. Van Horn has taken this approach. Marfa has two water towers to consider. There is also a tower farm west of Marfa. So there are many options.
It is important to consider the importance of the historic look of our water tower because it is located in the middle of town next to the courthouse. So I want to show the Van Horn water tower and the Marfa water tower so that people can see what the tower could look like if we start down this path. This is an important decision that affects the entire town. Citizen input should be seriously considered. A public hearing would be reasonable so that the revenue and aesthetic tradeoffs can be discussed.
posted by RobC at 4:28 PM
2 Comments:
I feel the issues of access and liability are by far the most important considerations. I think the contract would need to be very explicit to these issues. Plus charge at least, if not more than the antenna farm. Why should the city undercut a business? Give a break to a cell phone company? I pay plenty to them already, will my bill go down if they get to use city property?
When I look at these pictures, I think of Malinda Beeman's beautiful rendering of the Marfa water tower. The Van Horn Tower looks like something at the Houston Ship Channel. Let's keep junk like this away from downtown Marfa.
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