By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Three high-rise buildings. That's the approximate height of a new guyed communications tower that will soon be erected southwest of Albert. The Barton County Commission Wednesday morning heard from Zoning Administrator Judy Goreham and Skyward Land Services' Patrick Erwin before voting 4-0 to approve the construction of the 468-foot tower. Erwin said the tower is as big as they get.
"The company that we're representing, Tillman Infrastructure, is actively marketing this tower to the likes of Nex-Tech and some of the other smaller wireless internet service providers that are out there," he told the commission. "We do have Verizon under contract to be an anchor tenant on this structure."
Eight of the nine Barton Planning Commission members were present at a Feb. 14 public hearing and recommended approval from the county commission. The one absent member asked why a new tower was needed if another tower already existed in the area. Erwin explained that Verizon could longer lease space on that tower and would need the new one.
Erwin said a minimum of four companies would likely lease space on the tower. Space is sold in increments of 10 feet on a first-come, first-serve basis for elevation. Companies can put whatever they wish in that leased space so long as it does not compromise the structural integrity of the tower. Goreham said the upcoming Russell Water District project will also benefit from the tower.
"One of the things they do is they have digital meters," she said. "This tower is going to help them tremendously with communication for those digital meters because they start in Rush County, and they come into Barton County and also into Russell County. This is going to be huge for that project also."
The tower will be located on a 120-acre tract of land three-fourths of a mile from the Rush County line on Northwest 40 Road. The lattice-style tower and all accompanying equipment will be contained within a 16-acre section. Erwin worked with Goreham for nearly a year to find a location suitable for a tower of that size. No building permits will be issued until the Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission have approved the structure.