Otisfield to publish report on cell tower events

OTISFIELD —  Selectmen are working on establishing a timeline of the events related to erecting a 180-foot-high communications tower on Scribner Hill, said Chairman Hal Ferguson at the September 5 meeting. 

Ferguson said the idea is to show the public, in chronological order, what has happened since the project was first discussed. 

"The selectmen are putting together what we are calling 'a timetable of events' on the cell tower; it's basically just what's happened and why," Ferguson said during the meeting. 

The timeline will be posted on the homepage of the town's website, www.otisfieldme.gov, and will be available for review in the town office on Route 121. 

According to Ferguson, selectmen planned to complete the timeline by the September 5 meeting but there was still some work to do before it was ready for public viewing. 

Before the five-page document is released it will be reviewed by town attorney Phil Saucier of the Bernstein Shur law firm "to make sure we are not stepping on anybody's toes," Ferguson said. 

The town has faced controversy from The Friends of Scribner Hill, a group that filed a lawsuit earlier this summer in an attempt to stop the construction of the U.S. Cellular tower. 

Members of the group have since said they do not oppose the construction –  they just want to include facts about communications towers they have discovered, which may or may not alter the permit application approval, according to published reports. 

"It goes into pretty finite detail as far as exactly what were in the advertisements, excerpts from the ordinance and what not," said Ferguson of the document. 

"It's not taking any sides, pro or con."

"Are you going to put in the lack of notification and those who weren't notified?" asked Kristin Roy, a cell tower opponent who attended the September 5 meeting. 

The Friends of Scribner Hill have said they believe the town did not follow its telecommunications ordinance and that some abutters to the project were not properly notified of the hearings. 

"It will specifically say how many in numbers who were notified," Ferguson responded. 

"It's not a findings of fact," Selectman Rick Micklon clarified. "It's just a timeline." 

Micklon said the timeline will benefit those who have not been able to attend every planning board and appeals board meeting. Ferguson said the goal was to have the document ready one to two weeks following the September 5 selectmen meeting.