Letters

I would like to provide some background and clarify some misinformation that may have been circulated regarding work that has been done over the past several months to improve cellular service in North Haven, which is notably poor across much of the village.

During the 2020 campaign season, many residents expressed a desire for improved cellular service on North Haven. In September, I formed a committee to research alternatives. The scope, objective and intention from the outset was to study the issue, gather the facts, identify the best solutions for North Haven, and make a recommendation to the community at a public hearing, with all the relevant facts, information, analysis and experts present to answer questions. The North Haven Village Board would then vote on the recommendation, based on the public input and response from the public hearing.

The work of the committee has been underway for five months now. It has been thorough, careful and transparent. At each of the monthly Village Board meetings (which are held on Zoom, noticed, open to the public and reported on by The Sag Harbor Express), an update has been provided.

At the February 16 meeting, the committee reported that it was continuing to work on two alternatives: a cell tower and small cell technology. A more detailed update was given on a potential cell tower solution, whereby the committee has narrowed tower providers from five to one and negotiated favorable business terms.

The committee also has worked to identify a potential publicly owned parcel to host a cell tower, with the next step being tests and studies to determine the required height for the potential tower and propagation studies to confirm cellular coverage enhancements.

There were approximately 40 residents in attendance at the February 16 Village Board meeting. Most of the residents in attendance, and the letters submitted, were opposed to a cell tower at the potential location identified by the committee.

After listening to the input of residents who attended the meeting on February 16, and reviewing the information gathered to date, the Board of Trustees has decided not to further investigate a cell tower as a solution at this time. The committee will continue to pursue non-tower solutions to improve cell service and will add several members of the community to the committee.

We will continue to communicate the progress of this project and other matters of interest to the residents on a frequent basis and will be launching a new communication campaign.

Please be sure the village has your current email address by emailing planningclerk@northhavenvillage.org, and by reading the monthly recaps of meetings in the Express. Additionally, we encourage public participation at all monthly Village Board meetings.

Jeffrey Sander

Mayor

North Haven Village