Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell

Members of Tantramar Town Council, including the mayor, are welcoming the new telecommunications tower that Rogers Communications is building in the Sackville Industrial Park.

“I just came off of a three-day conference and a big concern from every one of the 13 mayors sitting around the table was cell coverage,” said Mayor Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, adding that coverage is poor to non-existent in many areas of the province.

“Nowadays, the way we depend on cell coverage, even for emergencies, 9-1-1, and all this,” she said, “so, I guess when I look around regionally, it is important for cell coverage.”

She was responding to a question from Warktimes about former Mayor Andrew Black’s letter to Rogers asking the company to reconsider building the tower close to one of the flood control ponds and the walking trails around it that serve as an extension of the Sackville Waterfowl Park.

Councillor Alyssa Greene

“I don’t share the former mayor’s concerns,” said Councillor Alyssa Greene.

“I think that it is something that is a positive addition to our community and to connectivity,” she added.

“I believe Rogers has a responsibility. They’re governed by laws and policies out there and they are responsible to those,” Greene said, suggesting there’s no substantive proof to back claims there are any health concerns related to telecommunications towers.

Warktimes reminded council during its Monday committee of the whole meeting that the South East Regional Service Commission’s planning agency, known as Plan 360, issued a letter approving the tower in spite of the commission’s own antenna siting policy which states that new antenna systems should avoid “ecologically significant natural lands [and] sites of natural or cultural prominence.”

“I think that describes the Sackville Waterfowl Park and our extensive food control ponds with trails around them,” I said during council’s public question period, adding that the 213 foot tower would be next to an extension of one of Tantramar’s most significant parks that helped earn it accreditation as a United Nations Ramsar City Wetland site.

Councillor Barry Hicks

Councillor Allison Butcher said Black wrote his letter on behalf of the previous council suggesting that the present one has other concerns.

“We are a municipal council and there are other levels of government above us that may or may not choose to go with the wishes of a council request,” she added.

“The cell coverage in New Brunswick is very poor,” said Councillor Barry Hicks, adding this one is not right in the Waterfowl Park.

He said ever since he’s been on council the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick has been pushing for more cell coverage in the province.

“In my opinion, I don’t see anything wrong with it. We need the cell phone coverage,” he concluded.