Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.

In a recent meeting that lasted only a few minutes, the Jefferson County Planning Commission approved a 235-foot telecommunications tower on a property near Frank Lacy Road and East Washington Highway on the east side of the county.
The applicant was Tillman Infrastructure from New York, whose main tenant on the tower will be AT&T Wireless.
According to Frank Tagliani, chief engineer at AT&T Mobility, who conducted an analysis of the company’s desired coverage in the region, the property was determined to be optimal for the capacity expansion needed in the county.
“After conducting multiple propagation models, the site, elevation and design height were selected as optimal to provide maximum outdoor/indoor coverage and handoff capabilities between surrounding AT&T sites based on the locations and antenna centerlines,” Tagliani wrote to the Jefferson County Planning Office.
Gary Freeman, a site acquisition specialist from Dallas, Texas, reported that the nearest existing tower, owned by American Tower Corporation (ATC), is 8/10 of a mile away. The ATC tower was originally considered for co-location, he said. However, the tower was deemed unviable due to its height restriction, he said.
“The existing tower is approximately 199 feet tall and does not provide the height required to extend coverage to the area sought by Tillman and its primary tenant, AT&T Wireless,” Freeman wrote. “The highest available colocation height offered by the tower owner is 184 feet, which significantly reduces the targeted coverage area.”
The proposed tower, he added, would provide expanded coverage along the U.S. Highway 90 corridor from Monticello to Greenville, improving indoor and outdoor reception north and south of the highway.
In explaining the application to the Planning Commission, County Manager Shannon Metty described the structure as approximately 250 feet tall, adding that it meets all fall zone clearance requirements because it is approximately 250 feet from the road.
“It’s mostly pastureland,” she said of the site.
Metty recommended that the application be approved, but on the condition that the applicant meet two conditions. The first was that the fence had to be raised from a height of 1.8 to 2.4 meters, as required by the building code. The second, according to Metty, was that the tower had to provide six co-location spaces, instead of the three specified in the application.
The Planning Commission approved the application with Metty’s recommendation after minimal discussion.