By EMILIA TEASDALE
VALATIE—The Village Board and the Village Planning Board held a joint meeting on Monday, March 10 with representatives from the engineering firm Tectonic about plans for a Verizon cell tower behind the Martin H. Glynn Municipal Building on Church Street. This was the second joint meeting with the company and this time the engineers came with a proposed 110’ tower with plans for several pine trees to be planted around the fenced 40’ by 61’ “compound” for the tower and equipment.
At the monthly Village Board meeting on March 11, Mayor Frank Bevens said the joint meeting “went very well.” He pointed out that the company “addressed every issue” the boards were concerned about.
The original proposal was for either a 110’ or 125’ tower (with a 5 foot antenna on top). The boards had a few concerns after the first meeting in February — the height, the fencing and the planting around the tower to camouflage it and the swing set at the playground on the municipal building’s grounds.
The former school building was purchased by the Town of Kinderhook and the Village of Valatie over a decade ago to house municipal offices, the town court and a sheriff’s substation. The Valatie Rescue Squad uses some of the former classrooms, as well as the local scout groups and the Family Resource Centers of Columbia County for the free playgroup. Other community groups use the gym. The playground is open to the public and has basketball and pickleball courts. The swings will be moved closer to the other playground equipment on the field.
Though the town is not part of the negotiations, and the town Planning Board is not reviewing the plans for the tower since the building is in the village, Mayor Bevens said he has let the Town Board know what’s been going on with the plan.
The company will be leasing the area from the village and the height of the tower does not change coverage, which is currently an issue in the village. There is no Verizon coverage on Main Street and other parts of the village.
At the Village Board meeting, Village Attorney Rob Fitzsimmons said Verizon tower projects are planned in Stockport and Stuyvesant to increase coverage in the area.
The village already has leases with other cell phone companies that rent space on the village water towers.
Mayor Bevens said he hopes for the project to be done early next year.
A public hearing on the project is scheduled for the next Planning Board meeting on April 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the Glynn Building.
Also at the meeting:
*The board is hosting a budget hearing on the 2025-26 village budget at their April 8 meeting at 6:30 p.m. Village budgets run from June to May
*The village will host a village-wide clean-up day on May 3. Residents can put items to be picked up in front of their homes. No registration is required. Information on what can be put out will be at www.valatievillage.com
To contact reporter Emilia Teasdale email eteasdale@columbiapaper.com
