Temporary cell tower proposed for Phoenix property

    An application for a temporary 65-foot cell tower, to be placed on the property of the Phoenix restaurant in Newry was presented to the Planning Board last week.
    Northeast Wireless Networks LLC of Falmouth wants to put a utility pole with cell panel antennae on top just off the left rear corner of the restaurant, which is located across from Sunday River Ski Resort’s South Ridge Lodge.
    The tower would function for only six months, according to David Duplissis, director of field operations and program management for Northeast Wireless. It is intended to be experimental, and will serve less than a quarter-mile area around it.
    Northeast provides a roaming-only 4G network to other carriers who may have poor service in an area, he said.
    If approved by the board and successful in operation, Northeast would return to the board for approval to place a permanent tower, approximately 10 feet tall, on the roof of the restaurant. The antennae would be located in a cupola, Duplissis said.
    As for the appearance of the temporary tower, Duplissis said it would be brown to blend in against trees behind it, which he said are about 55 feet tall. The pole would be buried seven feet into the ground, and rise 58 above it.
    “I think it will blend in pretty well,” he said.
    The pole will not need lighting.
    Duplissis also said the Bear River area of Newry could be a target area for better coverage in the future, although there are no plans in place for that now.
    Northeast also hopes to place a temporary tower at Sunday River’s sister resort, Sugarloaf. That tower, however, will be a more traditional lattice design.