After years of dealing with no cell phone signals residents of Tolchester are fed up and are taking matters into their own hands.
At Tuesday night’s commissioners’ meeting a group of residents expressed their frustration with the major cell phone companies and asked the commissioners for help in getting their voices heard.
The commissioners have written letters to Verizon and Sprint in the past outlining the lack of service problem, but residents came with a different option this time.
Community Association President John Kerns said that he has been in touch with a man who builds cell phone towers and has offered to build a tower in Tolchester. Construction and maintenance of the tower would be handled by this individual as well as finding cell phone companies to rent space on the tower for their antennas.
In exchange for providing the land for the tower the community association would receive a portion of the rental fees. According to Kerns there is a portion of land next to the community center that the tower could be built on
Not only would this new tower connect Tolchester to the outside world, but it would alleviate some serious safety concerns.
Kerns said that the power was out in the neighborhood a few weeks ago causing the landlines to go down. With no cell phone service and no landlines residents had no way of getting in touch with emergency personnel. “It’s a miracle nothing happened,” he said.
And with the marina it’s not just a community issue, Kerns added.
The commissioners encouraged Kerns and the community association to meet with Planning Director Gail Owings to see if any obstacles are in the way for a tower. The commissioners also said they would talk to Scott Boone, county IT director, about the issue.
Paul Harvey says
We had the same problem in Betterton until verizon added to our water tower. Also when a cell phone caller was in distress on a boat in the bay off of Betterton and called 911, the call went to a tower on the western shore and rescue equipment would respond from fire department boats from the western shore and finally from units from Kent county.
Maxine Timazee says
We have a home in Tolchester and we are usually down from New Jersey on the weekends and more in the summer. It is quite discouraging to know that we can’t use our cell phones when we are down there. My worse experience was last year when the telephone service was out due to an electrical storm and I had to rely on my cell phone to keep in touch with Verizon so they could give me instructions on resuming my land line. How in the world can you get instructions on a cell phone that keeps losing service……when you’re trying to restore your land line. God forbid that there was an emergency. Whatever it takes, needs to be done to solve this problem. I am very gratful to John Kerns for whatever he can do….and he has our support.
Matt Redman says
Bringing cell phone service to Tolchester would be great for a lot of reasons. If the community center would get a portion of the rent but provides the land for the tower then where would the rest of the rent go and how much of it?
If the community center property is a no-go then perhaps another option is to help fund the Kent Ag Center by putting the tower there. The income could be used for grounds & building maintenance at that location. This might be good for the county and not just Tolchester.
bill_harrow says
Very good idea Mr. Redman!! The problem is that your idea makes way to much sense for the commissioners to approve.
Tom Martin says
As a Tolchester resident, I concur with Matt’s suggestion. While placement of the tower at the community center presents a classic case of NIMBY syndrome, it is unfair to the people who live next door to live under or in front of a tower that serves the entire community. Tolchester has survived and sometimes prospered for almost 100 years without cell phone fees so it will continue. The idea of locating the structure on the Kent County Ag grounds, which is used just a few weekends a year, is a wise one. Additionally, siting at the Tolchester Marina may be an alternative as well. Whichever, a cell tower will allow much needed and absolutely essential service to the residents of the area–if it grows or not–and it may generate revenue to a facility that serves the entire community or to the business that reaches a rental agreement. I commend Mr. Kearns for his energetic work on this issue and express my support for his efforts. The idea that there are geographic segments in the state that have no cell (or even high-speed internet) service at reasonable fees in 2011 is absurd. Really, really absurd!
MD Eastern Shore says
Cell and internet service is all about making the numbers work. Putting up a tower is expensive, and so is putting equipment on it. Just the radios, the power, and the antennas cost $100000 or so for a small site. And then you have to get the phone calls and data out of the site and onto the network, which is a major task in Tolchester. Kent county, with its spread out tiny population and enormous stands of tall forest, is a challenging place for communications. That’s why you see 350 foot state towers almost everywhere for emergency communications. Cell companies will never earn a return on that investment. Bay Broadband is perpetually struggling as they lose customers due to new tree growth every spring. Its not as easy or as cheap as many would think or wish.
Alex says
ROI: Tolchester doesn’t have it.
Bill says
“The commissioners encouraged Kerns and the community association to meet with Planning Director Gail Owings to see if any obstacles are in the way for a tower. ”
Any obstacles? Just wait…..
Bill
Rafaelo says
At last night’s (Tuesday June 28th) Kent County Commissioner’s meeting, a zoning administrator in the audience suggested zoning forbids cell phone towers in Tolchester. The President of the Commission, Ronald Fithinan, in his affable florid-faced way suggested that maybe, perhaps, zoning ought “not to trump safety.” The alarmed response was there was “well, there’s all different kinds of safety.” Apparently there was concern the safety of zoning might be imperiled, for the sake of the safety of mere human beings.
Really now. Let’s reassess our priorities, shall we?
Catty One says
Ah, so THAT was the caiuse of the peals of lauighter that I heard Tues night in the 400 block of High.
I have been wondering what in the world was going on to cause all that howling and uncontained hilarity
Thanks, Rafaelo, for filling us in on the real story here.
Keith Thompson says
Thanks Rafaelo, that’s one of the many reasons why I like Ronnie so much.