PLANNING BOARD MEETING
CANAAN, NY 12029

NOVEMBER 17, 2008


The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm. Jennifer Mickle was absent. In addition to the Board members the following people were present: Chris Ciolfi and Louis Vitale from Mariner Tower, John DiMuro from Berkshire Farm and consultants Linda Stancliffe, Dave Everett and Mark Hutchins.

Informal appearance by Ed Donahue for a possible 6 lot subdivision between County Route 9 and Bradley Crossing Road

Mr. Donahue appeared with new maps for the Board to review. The Board cannot move forward on this until Mr. Donahue clarifies lot 4 to show the 350 feet of needed road frontage and to clearly list the amounts of frontage on lot 1. The Board will look at this when Mr. Donahue submits new maps.

Continued review of the Special Permit Application by Mariner Tower and Verizon Wireless on property owned by Berkshire Farm for a monopole structure. This review is based on the alternative site.

Mr. Ciolfi said the new site had been visited and they had flown a balloon test on November 2nd but since that was on short notice, they flew another balloon test on November 12th.Mr. Ciolfi submitted new material based on these balloon tests, including pictures and an EAF. Ron reiterated that the consultants the Board needed had been hired and have been working on this project with the Board for quite awhile. However, Mark Hutchins , the RF engineer, is new to the project.

Mr. Ciolfi said the new site reduces the impact since the tower is down from the ridgeline. There is some signal coverage reduction (shown by a propagation study by Verizon), but both Mariner and Verizon are willing to accept the reduction in coverage to move forward.

Mr. Ciolfi went over the new submission papers as follows:

Color/Design- they still believe steel gray is the color to use for the monopole. The shine can be washed off at the factory and will look weathered gray. All of the antennas will be non-reflective. He does not feel a faux tree is appropriate. A faux tree will cost $150,000 more and add to the long term maintenance. Faux trees also have to be 20-25 feet taller and therefore would make the tower 155-160 feet. Only the view of the faux tree is beneficial, there are more drawbacks than advantages.

By moving the site, they can use the existing road. It is driveable now and only needs 2
Planning Board Meeting November 17, 2008 Page 2



small areas to be created. He stated they have not submitted new site plans which include the road yet, they hope to move forward with the EAF tonight.

Propagation map-the new site is at 135 feet and not 146 as in the last site. There is a small area by Canaan East that would not have coverage. Mr. Hutchins said he felt the coverage will be better than Mariner anticipates.

Balloon Float Report- the balloon was flown at 135 feet. Mr. Ciolfi feels this site is better since the balloon did not break the ridge at any point including all of the lake. He took pictures from all of the original balloon testing sites as well as other locations.

Pictures-the pictures show both the original balloon test as well as this new site. Mr. Ciolfi feels the visibility will diminish as the trees grow. These are the locations of where the pictures were taken:
1. West of the lake facing east.
2. Chancer property on Shaker Ridge Dr.
3. Gelber property, back yard.
4. Gelber property, back yard. Different view.
5. West side of the lake facing East- waypoint #30.
6. West side of the lake, facing East-waypoint#31.
7. West dies of the lake facing East-waypoint #32.
8. Reference map.
9. Existing access drive(to be improved).
10. Another view of existing access drive.
Mr. Ciolfi said the access drive does not need much work. Berkshire Farm uses it now for maintenance. He said the grade will not exceed 15%.
11. Site plan moved 500 feet to the West.
12. Tower elevation at 135 feet.
13. CO3A-the existing road with the drainage swale.
Mr. Ciolfi said they must build about 200 feet of road. They will avoid the culvert and wetlands and avoid raising the utilities lines.
14. CO3B-shows the new section of road.. The base of the tower will be 6-8 feet above the road.


Michael asked about the utilities being put underground. Mr. Ciolfi said they would have to put them in concrete if they put them underground and that would be much more expensive. Ron said it is very heavily wooded and feels the utilities should be underground. Michael asked if this Board decides whether it goes underground or not, Ron said yes. Pierre said the above ground could be obtrusive, however since this is heavily wooded, it should not be a problem.
Planning Board Meeting November 17, 2008 Page 3

Dave Everett asked Ms. Stancliffe and Mr. Hutchins if they would like to speak.

Linda Stancliffe- submitted pictures to the Board that she had taken. She feels there should be some sort of agreement between Mariner and Berkshire Farm for the future use of underground utilities. She said she could not comment on the site plan since it has not been submitted but feels the visual impact has been mitigated with this alternative site.

Michael asked about faux tree poles and Ms. Stancliffe said she has had experience with them in Pittstown. She said faux trees did not do what the company had wanted as far as coverage goes, so the company had to add to it. She agreed they are significantly more expensive, probably $150,000 to $200,000 more. She said it is best if the painting is done in the factory and that would last 5-7 years at the cost of about $15,000. She said she was not familiar with acid wash of galvanized steel. Mr. Ciolfi said it speeds up the process so it is not so shiny. The tower will change over time due to light and atmospheric conditions. Ms. Stancliffe feels darker gray is better than lighter gray.

Mark Hutchins- agrees with the galvanized steel and with having a monopole. He said if the tower gets more than 30-40 feet over the ridgeline, it is very noticeable. Emergency services are important as to where they are placed on the tower and is harder on the tree tower. Mr. Hutchins went over his report as follows:
Figure 1- TF1A slots do not have good coverage.
2B-used Canaan East existing site to check the coverage and his opinion was
the existing site has inadequate coverage.
4B-using the same site, he went lower in height and looked at the coverage
at 116 feet and most of Route 22 was covered.
6B-went down to 86 feet for coverage and he said Canaan East and West
coverage is pretty good. However, the area long Route 295 would
probably need another tower and can’t be covered by TF2. The 86 feet
would be at the lowest height, any lower would not be above the trees.

He encouraged the Board to be consistent with the height of the tower; the actual tower versus the top attachments to the structure. For instance, whip antennas can add 20 feet to the top of the top of the tower. He suggested the Board polish the adequate coverage definition in the Tower law since it is not clear. Pierre adequate coverage is very broad. He stated he has read that ¼ mile drop in coverage can be deemed inadequate. Mr. Hutchins said if a cell phone call drops off and you have to redial, that is not adequate coverage. Pierre feels it should be car service as opposed to house service. Mr. Hutchins said he feels if a house has no coverage, it is inadequate.

At this point, Ron reconvened the Public Hearing.

Larry Machiz- said he and his clients are optimistic about the alternative site. He still questions the color and style. He read aloud a letter dated 11/17/08 from Dave Maxson
Planning Board Meeting November 17, 2008 Page 4


into the record. They prefer dark coloration since there is still visual impact to his clients.

Donna Knight- wants to know if the Board members looked at the pictures she had submitted. Ron said they had. Donna asked if anyone could speak about the tower, such as flagpoles and about the antennas. Mr. Hutchins said the antennas are 10-12 feet across and the coverage is better with regular antennas. He feels the flush mounted (also called canisters) are okay but they make the tower look denser and limit’s the coverage. He said the carriers don’t like them. He feels flagpoles are weaker since the diameter is smaller and the antennas are mounted on the outside. Mr. Ciolfi said Verizon has already said if the approved tower is a flagpole, Verizon will need 2 levels for their antennas. This could cause the need for 2 towers or for a taller tower. Mr. Ciolfi said he is against flagpoles and does not agree with flush mount antennas at all.

Becky Meier- said there is no coverage on County Route 5 and should be. She asked if this tower would cover County 5 and the response was that the propagation study showed it should.

Chris Ciolfi asked if he could address some of the issues brought up and Ron said yes. Mr. Ciolfi said the tower height has already been decided by the FAA and it can’t be more than 199 feet. His proposal is 135 feet with 12 feet of whip antennas for a total of 147 feet. His second issue was the color and said they still prefer gray, it works the best. The third issue was flush mount antennas versus concealed mount- he said the existing towers do not have flush mount and he wants the same consideration for this tower.

Since there were no more comments, Ron asked for a motion to adjourn the Public Hearing.

MOTION TO ADJOURN THE PUBLIC HEARING TO THE NEXT MEETING ON DECEMBER 15TH-Michael Belknap Second-Pierre Gontier No roll call taken


Discussion for site recommendation Pierre said based on paperwork from the balloon tests and the visual impact he feels the Board should not look at one particular property. He feels the second site is better and has less impact on wetlands, the land , the lake etc. Joe said he is more concerned with the actual coverage and now feels the coverage has not decreased. Michael said there is less environmental and visual impact with the second site and Ian agreed.

MOTION TO ACCEPT THE LOWER SITE AS THE CELL TOWER SITE-Pierre Gontier Second-Joe Davis All in Favor


Planning Board Meeting November 17, 2008 Page 5


Roll call Chairman Davis-yes
Ian Hooper-yes
Pierre Gontier-yes adopted
Joe Davis-yes
Michael Belknap-yes


Mr. Ciolfi said he would get all of the paperwork (new maps etc.) ready for the December meeting.

EAF-Mr. Everett went over the document with the Board by reading each question aloud. He said the Board must make a determination. He urged the Board not to make a positive declaration since it was too lengthy.
Part 1 was filled out by the applicant. The Board felt #18 should be changed to not an agricultural district.

Part 2 was filled out by the Board as follows ( and the completed document will be on file). Number 1-yes 6.-yes 11.-yes 16.-no
2-no 7.-no 12.-no 17.-yes
3-no 8.-no 13.-no 18.-no
4-no 9.-no 14.-no 19.-no
5-no 10.-no 15.-no 20.-yes


After this was filled out, Mr. Everett advised the Board to declare a Negative Declaration. The Board agreed. Mr. Everett said he would prepare a Negative Declaration for the Board to look at in the December meeting.He said the Public Hearing will be continued. Mr. Ciolfi will need to submit new plans for the road, the height of the tower and all the details. Also, the notices for the balloon tests.



Review and Approval of the September minutes

MOTION TO APPROVE THE SEPTEMBER MINUTES AS AMENDED BASED ON DAVE EVERETT’S REVIEW-Michael Belknap Second-Pierre Gontier
Ian Hooper abstained No roll call

Review and Approval of the October minutes

MOTION TO APPROVE AS AMENDED-Ian Hooper Second-Joe Davis
No roll call
Planning Board Meeting November 17, 2008 Page 6


Correspondence
1. October ZEO report.
2. Invoice from Erdman, Anthony for services from 10/5/08-11/1/08.
3. Invoice from Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna for services thru 9/30/08.
4. Request for comment on a petition for a Special Permit in Richmond, Ma.
5. Letter from Kleinke Associates to provide services in community planning/project
Review and design of community spaces.
6. November/December issue of Talk of the Towns.
7. Invitation to a conference on 11/21/08 on climate challenge.
8. Copy of Conserving our Heritage, presented by Columbia Land Conservancy.
9. November/December issue of Rural Futures.


There was no more business before the Board.

MOTION TO ADJOURN-Joe Davis Second-Pierre Gontier All in Favor

The meeting was adjourned at 10:30pm.








Respectfully submitted,



Tammy C. Flaherty
Planning Board Clerk

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