Mariner Tower has at long last submitted an application to the planning board to build a tower. It would be at Catamount, not at the previously discussed site on Route 23.
Bruce Cumsky, who is more aware of what Egremonters want than anyone, says that broadband Internet service is the issue that dwarfs all others in importance in Egremont. But cell phone service can't be far behind.
The Mariner Tower application will be a good test of the planning board's performance, and whether we should replace its members (or get rid of it entirely). Egremonters overwhelmingly support cell phone service, and I'm certain would overwhelmingly vote for this tower if they had the chance. So will the planning board do all it can (while following the law) to expedite approval, or will it drag its feet by hiring a consultant, nitpicking the application papers and insisting on a protacted hearing? Do they view their role as following the wishes of the voters, or do they want to substitute their judgment because they're smarter than we are? Let's all watch carefully.
If you support cell phone service, or even if you don't, make your views known. Write a letter to the planning board, with a copy to the selctboard. Better yet, attend at least one of the deliberations sessions. The planning board generally meets every other Monday evening.
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The Planning Board has left an unblemished record of complete failure to heed the needs of Egremont's citizens for both broadband and cell phone access. For instance, Egremont is in the 5% of the country that does not have broadband access. This miserable statistic is directly attributable to the Planning Board's failure to live up to its duty to us, combined with the failure of our Selectmen to push them to get the job done.
It's time the Planning Board lived up to its duty: get the job done; get broadband and cell phone access for all of Egremont.
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