Brook Manor invited GOCA to attend a meeting they arranged with the county executive. Hilary Rogers and myself represented GOCA. We joined a healthy contingent from Brook Manor and a representative from Smalls Nursery. Senator Ben Kramer and delegate Bonnie Cullison attended and participated as well.
The county executive listened, and agreed that the process was flawed, paraphrasing. He didn’t want to rehash past mistakes.
He said we (the county and the state) will take the location of 200/97 off the table. Period. And move forward with identifying a new location.
Greg Slater took the action item to verify that Site 7 was not in a conservation area.
The GOCA tower adhoc team will continue to work with the county and state in regards to identifying a location that meets requirements.
The team is made up of:
Jeff Weiler, Anthony Watkins, Robert Zimmerman, Paul Jarosinski, John Blachere, Hilary Phillips-Rogers, Billy Becker, Greg Intoccia and Matt Quinn.
While we see the removal of the 200/97 location as positive. There is work to be done. We are committed to working and matching the urgency of the county and state to move this project forward. To be clear, we are opposed to moving the tower to a location which would adversely impact another neighborhood.
Commutation towers have become part of the landscape as communities have become dependent on wireless services. Making sure they are placed in locations where they are minimally invasive will continue to be a challenge. Which is why engaging the local communities upfront is a critical 1st step. The county and state agreed to this premise.
GOCA is thankful for the clear support and strong representation of Senator Kramer and Delegate Cullison re this issue.
Matt Quinn
President, Greater Olney Civic Association