Concord re-opening possibility of Umbrella cell tower 

By Dan Atkinson — Correspondent

After backing away from the site years ago, town officials are gearing up to solicit carriers to install a cell tower atop the Umbrella Arts Center — even as one former leader continues to push for a tower at the TriCon church. 

Concerns about health effects nixed the earlier Umbrella push, but Select Board Chair Mary Hartman said residents are now most concerned about how the town’s notorious lack of service could hinder emergency response.

“People are becoming more and more insistent that we have coverage,” Hartman told The Concord Bridge, referring to an October 2023 listening session on the issue. 

“We heard a lot of frustration and impatience. Frankly, people were worried about safety,” she said. 

“The sentiment of the town, I think, is that we need coverage — [if] something terrible happened, how would we communicate with each other?” 

Exploring options

At a June 17 Select Board meeting, Deputy Town Manager Megan Zammuto discussed plans to request proposals to put towers at various sites. In a memo, she said officials expect to put out an RFP for a tower at the Walden Street landfill site in July or August.

That tower would address service in the South and Central Concord areas. The cupola of the Emerson Umbrella would serve Concord Center, Zammuto said.

“The Umbrella is the only municipal site that can both address the significant gap in coverage in the downtown area and house the necessary equipment on the property, eliminating the need for the construction of a standalone tower in Concord’s downtown,” she wrote to the Bridge. 

“Exploring this option through an RFP will provide more specific information about a potential project at this location, including a plan for how a proposer would minimize the impact of an installation on the Umbrella Arts Center and surrounding residents.”

In early 2018, the Umbrella cupola was Verizon’s top choice for a tower site, the Concord Journal reported at the time. But by that June, the Select Board voted against installing another tower on town property after residents worried about health impacts pushed back.

Zammuto said officials have received concerned comments about radio frequency emissions from any potential cell tower — and that the town has no control over federal laws governing allowable emissions. 

Town bylaws prohibit cell towers within 1,000 feet of residences, but Zammuto said the restriction can be waived. The Zoning Board of Appeals would have to approve any proposal for the Umbrella.

Jerry Wedge, the Umbrella’s outgoing executive director, was noncommittal last week about the possibility of a cell tower at the building.

“Revisiting the cell tower issue is a new development, and to date, The Umbrella has not taken a position. As we receive more information, we will be better able to comment,” Wedge said in an email to the Bridge. Eileen Williston takes over as executive director on July 1.

‘Imminent’ — or not?

The TriCon church on Walden Street has also been eyed as a cell tower site.

Henry Dane, an attorney and the former Select Board chair at the time, told the Bridge last August that the church was in talks with Verizon to use their building, which previously housed a Sprint cell tower. And Dane told the Bridge last week the two parties are close to striking a deal.

“What I’ve been trying to do in the past year is to facilitate TriCon and Verizon coming together on terms,” Dane told the Bridge. 

“The only issue remaining, as I understand it, is that Sprint left some equipment behind in the tower which needs to be removed before Verizon can go ahead, and who is going to pay for it.”

Dane’s law offices are in Concord Center, not far from the church, and he said he is not acting as legal representative for anyone involved in the deal. He told the Bridge he wants to improve service, saying he frequently has to go out to the street to make cell calls.

He said it would be easier to set up service at TriCon than anywhere else because of its previous use as a tower.

“We could have cell coverage from that tower within a matter of months, whereas if we go to any other site, it would probably take a year or more, which is not a desirable outcome,” Dane said. “My personal opinion is the issuance of an RFP for another site would only slow down the process with TriCon.”

A Verizon spokesperson did not say if the company was close to setting up shop at TriCon.

“While we’re continuing to work with local experts on enhancing our network at the Trinitarian Congregational Church on Walden Street, that implementation must follow safety protocols, logistics and approval processes that require time and patience,” the spokesperson wrote to the Bridge. 

“For competitive reasons, we’re unable to comment on future build plans beyond what we’ve publicly announced or filed.”

But Hartman said even if TriCon came online, officials would still look for another tower. “We need multiple towers around town, not just one,” she emphasized.

And she was skeptical that Verizon and TriCon were on the verge of striking a deal.

Dane, she said, “has been saying it’s imminent for a long time.”