Balloon test held over Estey Road

By Avice Meehan

The otherwise quiet Estey Road became a busy thoroughfare on April 18 as Tarpon Towers conducted a balloon test to help residents understand the potential visual impact of a 186-foot cell tower. 

The application for the tower, which would serve Verizon Wireless, was filed with the Connecticut Siting Council the day before, on April 17 and has been assigned docket number 536. According to Kenneth Baldwin, an attorney with Robinson & Cole who represents the applicants, the Siting Council will have 180 days to render a decision on the tower. He said a schedule will be sent once the application is deemed complete.

It was the second balloon test at the location and conducted at the request of area residents following an informational meeting held in March. 

Peter Hume and Jean Grasmere, who live at 126 Estey Road in what’s known as the Deacon Noah Miner House, were working in their garden on the morning of the balloon float. Like others, they expressed concern about the impact of the tower and the effect it could have on wildlife, as well as the secluded character of Estey Road itself. Other Norfolk residents who came by to check out the site, expressed a more positive view because of poor cell coverage in the area.

The actual address of the tower is 78 Goshen East St., but it will be accessed via a 12-foot gravel driveway off Estey Road. The lattice structure would be housed on a concrete pad enclosed by a chain-link fence and supported by a back-up generator. The property is owned by Paul Chaplinsky Sr.; the application lists his last name as Chapinsky.

Visibility of the tower on Estey Road would be highly variable. It will be highly visible year-round from several locations on Estey Road, including abutting properties at 177 and 179 Estey Road. Other addresses on Estey Road have a better view of the distant wind turbines.

The four-foot diameter balloon looked like a speck waving in the sky. More detailed photos that include a simulated image of the tower itself are included in the complete application. That can be accessed via the Siting Council website at  https://portal.ct.gov/csc by searching on docket 536.

The application also lists the number of properties considered by Tarpon Towers, which will be responsible for constructing and maintaining the tower itself. These include property owned by Michael Farrington on Old Goshen Road that elicited fierce opposition for neighbors, as well as alternate locations along Route 272 and a parcel owned by the Great Mountain Forest.