(Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Technology Concerns

Proposed cell tower receives red light from R.M. council

Sep 13, 2019 | 5:01 PM

The Rural Municipality of Prince Albert has received a clear signal from its rate payers, and has said no to a proposed 350 ft. cell tower.

Prior to voting on the application Thursday, a public hearing was held at the R.M. office and more than a dozen concerned residents showed up to voice their opinions. Raymond Boyd lives 200 paces from the proposed site and stressed personal concerns about the impact on his property value, and added he also felt Sasktel had been very secretive with the way they went about planning for the project.

“They have the ball on the 20 yard line and we are just showing up to the stadium to play. Now it’s on the 10 yard line and [Sasktel] knows if they can deflect long enough, they can get through it,” he said.

Boyd’s main concern was with the proposed location, which would be surrounded by four properties including his own. He said despite multiple attempts and email exchanges with the company in charge, he could not get a clear answer why another site could not be better suited.

“I’m not saying this tower shouldn’t be built but we are living in Saskatchewan farmland so there’s got to be someplace we can put this thing that’s not going to be on top of four of us,” he said.

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Despite Sasktel’s assurances they had gone through all the proper procedures and protocols to get everything approved, Sarah Anderson said she still felt disrespected.

“I don’t want to come home, look out my window and see surveyors setting up in my yard without number one approaching me and asking can I be here,” she said.

Two representatives from Sasktel were at Thursday’s meeting to address questions. Corporate Services manager Ron Kaminski explained a number of factors play into a desired site including proximity to power lines, highways and sloughs. He said Sasktel had looked at a number of other locations, prior to the proposed site, but had only received interest from one property owner.

“So when you are presented with an option, you need to run the course to get the approvals for that,” he said.

In the end, council voted to deny the application. The decision was based largely on the negative feedback they had received from residents but also on the opinion from councillors that there could be a better location for the tower.

When questioned by paNOW about their next move, Sasktel issued a statement.

“We respect councils decision regarding our proposed cell tower in the R.M. of Prince Albert and we remain committed to ensuring that our customers throughout Saskatchewan have access to the communication services they need to connect to their worlds. Our focus now shifts to see if we can find a suitable alternate location for this tower so that we may still enhance cellular coverage and service in this area of the province. However, we currently have no timeframe on when or if a new suitable location may be found.”

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell