With a legal dispute between Chilmark and Verizon over denied infrastructure improvements laid to rest, the town is now focusing again on where improvements to connectivity can be made.
The Chilmark Select Board unanimously voted during a Sept. 1 meeting to enter into a settlement agreement with Verizon and approve the cell carrier’s application to install 14 small cell wireless facilities on existing utility poles.
The conflict was prompted by the board’s January denial of Verizon’s request to install the antennas, mostly on North and Middle Road, in which town officials cited concern of the company gaining a competitive advantage over other carriers. Verizon filed a federal lawsuit in March, accusing the town of making an arbitrary decision in its denial.
“The town has no regulations or written policies establishing any standards for the board’s review of proposed attachments to utility poles in town rights of way,” the suit reads.
Matthew Poole, a board member, said the town fell in line with federal regulations after learning they couldn’t legally back the vote.
“We learned we did not have the authority under the Federal Telecommunications Act to support the decision we earlier made,” Poole said during the meeting.
According to the settlement agreement, signed by a Verizon representative on August 10, the town has 14 days after its new decision to issue its written approval to the company.
While major cell carriers have made infrastructure improvements to boost connectivity on the Island, gaps in service have been called a public safety risk in Chilmark.
The town shares a distributed antenna system with Aquinnah, which places nodes to enhance signal strength for cell phones, and Chilmark is looking to amend its zoning bylaws to allow cell towers. Currently, the only cell tower in Chilmark was installed by the U.S. Coast Guard at Peaked Hill and is utilized by first responders. The matter will need support by Chilmark voters, and the select board is asking the planning board to adjust the language to allow for a lease term longer than 10 years and potentially increase the 70-foot height restriction for antennas.
Meanwhile, Verizon issued a final notice on August 14 to Chilmark that it’ll discontinue the phone line the town offices use by Oct. 28 as a part of infrastructural changes, so the town will need to find alternative options.
