7/6/2016 Town OKs cell tower at Lutheran church Jackson Hole News&Guide: Town & County

http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/town_county/townokscelltoweratlutheranchurch/article_ebeae1f865ff543dbc2955370d6b030f.html 1/4

Go to complete list >

1. Wolverine ‘sighting’ costs a guide his job

2. Two Pinedale residents killed in motorcyclecrash south of Jackson

3. Wilson semi crash means free potatoes for all

4. Police say circus was phony; circus claimsmisunderstanding

5. Toxicology in teen's death is negative

HOME LOG IN REGISTER SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISEEMAIL ALERTS

NEWS VALLEY STEPPING OUT SPORTS OPINION MULTIMEDIA CALENDAR PHOTO REPRINTS CLASSIFIEDS JACKSON HOLE DAILY

Scattered Clouds 70°

Extended Forecast Jackson, Wyoming Wednesday, July 6, 2016 Search

Home News Town & County

Story Comments

Tweet 0

Print Font Size:

Town OKs cell tower at Lutheranchurch55foot bell tower, with the antenna masked by a cross, defended byarchitect.

POSTED: WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2016 4:30 AMBy John Spina | 0 comments

After months of discussion the Jackson Town Council approved the construction of a 55footcellphone antenna disguised as a bell tower at the Redeemer Lutheran Church at 175 N.Willow St.

Proposed by Atlas Towers, a worldwide builder of cell towers, the tower will be able to housethree cellular carriers and dramatically expand service throughout the town of Jackson, theapplicant stated.

“There is a real need here [for supplemental wireless service], and I think it’s clear thecommunity wants it,” said Mike Powers, director of legal affairs of Atlas Towers.

“Public safety is concern No. 1. Without improving service there will be repercussions. Ourtower will improve communication in an emergency.”

Powers also pointed out that many of Jackson’s small businesses and families rely on clearand reliable wireless service in their daily lives.

“Wireless communication is more than just Snapchatting and texting,” he said. “This is a realbenefit to the community.”

Approval for the project was repeatedly deferred because of discussions about the height and

Recommend 0

Thanks for reading Jackson Hole News&Guide. Because you have alreadyviewed this article, you may view it again as many times as you would like withoutsubtracting from your remaining free article views.

Remaining9

MOST POPULAR MOST COMMENTED

Stories

Photos

Videos

7/6/2016 Town OKs cell tower at Lutheran church Jackson Hole News&Guide: Town & County

http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/town_county/townokscelltoweratlutheranchurch/article_ebeae1f865ff543dbc2955370d6b030f.html 2/4

Reggae Night with Selecta Victor Raggamuffin8:00 pm | Stagecoch Bar, Wilson

JACKSON HOLE FORECASTWEDNESDAY

Lo 45 / Hi 71scattered showers or a

tshower

THURSDAY

Lo 40 / Hi 73mostly sunny

FRIDAY

Lo 42 / Hi 79partly cloudy

Powered By:

Tweet 0

visibility of a church bell tower throughouttown.

Current development regulations limit theheight of a building in Jackson to 46 feet.However, Atlas Towers asserted that at 46feet the tower could only house two carriersinstead of three.

Not only would the shorter tower limit thenumber of cellular carriers, officials from Tmobile and Atlas Towers said, it would alsolimit those carriers’ service capacities

because of trees and other buildings. At 55 feet the signal will be able to reach wider areas oftown.

“At 55 feet we could cover downtown and east Jackson,” said Rocky Sucher, a representativefrom Tmobile. “At 46 feet we would have eventually had to put forward another applicationfor another tower to serve east Jackson.”

The issue of height was compounded by the fact that a 12foot cross will sit atop the 55foottower.

“I do not think we as a community should be permitting religious symbols 55 feet off theground,” said Councilor Jim Stanford. “I don’t care what symbol it is.”

Though some were uncomfortable with the cross, legal precedent, brought up by Mike Powersof Atlas Towers, would have overruled any objections.

The cross was part of an intricate design to mask the cellular antenna as a bell tower. Asplanned by Gilday Architects, the tower will use materials that match those of the church andactually function as a bell tower.

“In order for it to look like a tower, height is very important,” said Peggy Gilday. “Without 55feet the building starts to look squatty and lose its elegance.”

“I’ve worked in wireless for 15 years and this design is very desirable,” Sucher said at aprevious meeting. “We would love to sign a lease with Atlas Towers at this proposed site.”

The Town Council approved the plan in a 41 vote, with Stanford dissenting.

Contact John Spina at 7325911 or town@jhnewsandguide.com.

More about Cell Antennae

ARTICLE: Town nixes garage antennaeARTICLE: Cellphone antennae possible on art center

More about Redeemer Lutheran Church

ARTICLE: Church chosen as divine site for cell tower

Recommend 0

7/6/2016 Town OKs cell tower at Lutheran church Jackson Hole News&Guide: Town & County

http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/town_county/townokscelltoweratlutheranchurch/article_ebeae1f865ff543dbc2955370d6b030f.html 3/4

GTMF Presents: An Evening of Rodgers &Hammerstein7:00 pm | Walk Festival Hall, Teton Village

Crystal Singing Bowl Chakra Clearing Meditation7:00 pm | Lotus Vibes, Jackson

Victor Velyan Trunk Show11:00 am | Tayloe Piggott Gallery , Jackson

Island Park Wildflower Walk9:00 am | KilgoreYale Road and Highway 20, IslandPark

Gracie Garage®5:30 pm | Dancers' Workshop, Jackson

Downtown historical walking tours10:30 am

WEB CAMS

VIEW MORE WEB CAMS

@JACKSONHOLENEWS

Embed View on Twitter

Tweets by @JacksonHoleNews

5h

8h

Are you a fan of kitschy Western Americana? @borbay has some art for you. twitter.com/borbay/status/…

Counting your eggs — which bird wins?: bit.ly/29khhgG

JH News&Guide @JacksonHoleNews

JH News&Guide @JacksonHoleNews

JH News&Guide

Discuss Print

Similar StoriesTeton Mystery site proposed for housing

Developers’ survey fuels fight over Bar J

Redmond apartments may take two phases

Town caps shortterm rentals in District 2

Closed by fire, Chinatown sets reopening

Most ReadWolverine ‘sighting’ costs a guide his job

Two Pinedale residents killed in motorcycle crashsouth of Jackson

Wilson semi crash means free potatoes for all

Police say circus was phony; circus claimsmisunderstanding

Toxicology in teen's death is negative

1Use Full Name.Your first and last names arerequired for your comment tobe posted, and they willappear online.

2Keep it Clean and Civil.Please avoid obscene, vulgar,lewd, racist or sexuallyoriented language andpersonal insults.

3Don't Threaten or Abuse.Threats of harming anotherperson will not be tolerated.AND PLEASE TURN OFFCAPS LOCK.

4Be Truthful.Don't knowingly lie aboutanyone or anything.

5Be Nice.No racism, sexism or any sortof ism that is degrading toanother person.

6Be Proactive.Use the 'Report' link on eachcomment to let us know ofabusive posts.

7Stay on TopicKeep your comment focusedon the article.

Print comments

Posted in Town county on Wednesday, July 6, 2016 4:30 am. | Tags: Atlas Towers, Cell Antennae, Redeemer

Lutheran Church, Tmobile, Mike Powers, Rocky Sucher, Jim Stanford, Town Council

Rules of Conduct

Forgot?

Screen Name or Email

Password

Welcome to the discussion.

Login

Need an account? Create one now.

TODAY'S EVENTS FULL CALENDAR SUBMIT EVENT

7/6/2016 Town OKs cell tower at Lutheran church Jackson Hole News&Guide: Town & County

http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/news/town_county/townokscelltoweratlutheranchurch/article_ebeae1f865ff543dbc2955370d6b030f.html 4/4

NEWS VALLEY STEPPING OUT SPORTS OPINION MULTIMEDIA CALENDAR PHOTO REPRINTS CLASSIFIEDS JACKSON HOLE DAILY

MORE WAYS TO CONNECT

Contact usPersonnelAbout UsMobile Site

SERVICES

SubscribeAdvertiseSubmit ContentOrder Photo Reprints

OUR PARTNERS

2

Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved Links Site Index Terms of Use Privacy