Cell poles green, ‘less obtrusive’
Faragut planners, TeleCAD Wireless and three residents studied plans for Verizon to install new small cell poles in various places around Town during a Town Staff/Developer meeting in Town Hall Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Preferring the green-painted poles, “they’re less obtrusive. It looks a lot better,” said Don Mann with Glen Abbey Homeowners Association. “I appreciate your working with us on this.”
“I can tell the amount of effort, work and attention to detail,” another resident, Jeanne Brykalski, added.
Town staff, as well as some Farragut Municipal Planning Commissioners, went over each of TeleCAD Wireless’ proposed location for small cell poles, which included 102 Glen Abbey Boulevard, 126 West End Ave., 100 Smith Road, 11403 Municipal Center Drive, 11509 Parkside Drive, 101 West End Ave., 100 Brooklawn St. and 11425 Kingston Pike.
Some of those poles are proposed for the Town Center, where Community Development director Mark Shipley recommended they be painted black to tie in with the utility poles in those areas.
“We need consistency with the rest of the Mixed Use Town Center,” said Vice Mayor Louise Povlin, an FMPC member. “We really need to get a better overview on what we’re doing.”
However, while the Glen Abbey location is in the Mixed Use Town Center, it also would be at a residential entrance.
“This one (Glen Abbey) is kind of different from the other seven,” Shipley said. “It’s an entrance into a residential front. The others aren’t. This one, it would seem to me, would really be up to the neighborhood.
“It would affect the neighborhood.”
Shipley added he thinks they would want the most discrete paint on those poles.
“I think I would rather go with green,” Mann said. “There are trees all along, and everything is green.”
“At some point, you guys are probably going to repaint your poles,” Povlin said. “Think about that. Don’t think about what it is now because, I know, it’s an expensive venture to go and repaint poles. But, you might do three or four at a time.”
She suggested Mann go back to his HOA and get direction on what his residents would like.
“I think it’s a good conversation for HOA to have, so that by the time we come to our FMPC meeting, we have clarity going forward so that (TeleCAD Wireless) can get approval and move along,” Povlin said.
“Color is important, but ultimately you want it to coordinate with your (existing utility) poles,” the Town’s Vice Mayor added.
