November 24. Dave Vieser. Nearly a year after the Cornelius Town Council approved, PeakNet Cellular, headquartered in Florida, has not yet begun construction of a 199-foot cell phone tower near Jetton Road.

This tower was approved by the town committee 3 to 2 against the opposition of nearby residents and will replace Duke Energy's current 115-foot monopolar cell phone tower at 19328 Lake Norman Bay Avenue.

Less than 200 feet is the highest height of a cell phone tower without lights.

Deputy Mayor Wayne Herron (Wayne Herron) said PeakNet has cancelled the building permit, but there is no information on when construction will begin. PeakNet did not respond to Cornelius Today.

PeakNet claims that the tower is needed to improve cell phone reception in the area, but not everyone agrees.

Commissioners Denis Bilodeau and Jim Duke voted against the proposal. "When Verizon placed five 40-foot nodes in the area to improve reception, I was the president of PPOA. Are these nodes different? The tower request was received only a few weeks after the smaller nodes were approved."

Mecklenburg County issued a building permit on September 14.

It is so urgent to build a 200-foot-tall cell phone tower, so there will be nothing in a year. The newly elected officials should investigate the process of this approval and the environmental concerns and the blight this tower will bring to Cornelius and its residents.

Tel: 704-895-1335-P.O. Box 2062 Cornelius, NC 28031-2062.

Editor: Dave Yochum, [email protection]

Production: Jason Benavides, [email protected]