Mayor not against cell tower, just location

Mayor Anthony Smith said today his “no” vote for construction of a Verizon Wireless cell tower near Cobblestone Farms was not a vote against the tower, but of its location.

Smith said council was presented with two proposals at its regular meeting Tuesday, one that located the tower about 200 feet from the nearest house and another that placed it nearly 300 feet from the nearest residence.

Smith said he would have voted yes on the second proposal, but the motion put on the floor was for the first one.

“The Cobblestone residents had wanted a site that was further away,” Smith said. “I had questioned the Skousen family and they would receive revenue from Verizon.”