Date: Fri 27-Aug-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Meeting-House-steeple-antenna

Full Text:

Reception Rental?

(with file photo)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

When is a steeple not a steeple?

When it's an antenna.

A cellular phone company is seeking permission to erect an antenna inside the

steeple of the town-owned Meeting House on Main Street.

The request from OmniPoint of Cedar Knolls, NJ will be discussed at Monday's

meeting of the Board of Selectmen. The Heritage Preservation Trust, which

leases the building from the town, approved the request and proposed lease

plan earlier this week. However, the ultimate decision lies with the

selectmen.

"We hope they act favorably," said Preservation Trust President Donald Studley

this week. He declined to comment on the steeple lease arrangements until

after an agreement is signed.

The non-microwave antenna would be hidden from view and have no impact on

people around it, according to OmniPoint spokesperson Jerry Phillips. A radio

transmitter box would also be installed on the premises. The antenna would add

to OmniPoint's capacity and fill in some of the "gaps" in local cellular

service.

OmniPoint, whose service arrived in this area 18 months ago, initially

proposed the antenna to Trinity Church, which turned down the offer.

While the Heritage Preservation Trust pays just $1 a year in rent, it has

spent a total of $275,000 on renovations to the building since 1988. The Trust

recently spent $103,000 in building renovations. The town accepted the Meeting

House as a gift from the Congregational Church 11 years ago, and immediately

entered into a 50-year lease with the Preservation Trust.