Mathews supervisors’ chair Tim Doss repeatedly expressed embarrassment and apologized to residents during the board’s November meeting last Thursday when a scheduled public hearing on a Verizon Wireless request to construct a telecommunications tower on private property in Cobbs Creek had to be postponed at the last minute.

Shortly into Verizon Wireless’s presentation on the application, County Attorney Andrea Erard told the board that she had questions about safety issues, such as the fall radius of the tower, and that the county needed assurances that emergency services could co-locate equipment on the tower.

Clearly frustrated, Doss pointed out that it was the second time in less than 12 months that a public hearing on a conditional use permit had to be postponed.

“I’m very disappointed that we have to go through this again,” he said. “So where’s the breakdown with this process so it doesn’t happen again? Did it not come to you first? Is that what we need to do?” Erard told Doss that she hadn’t reviewed the application before the meeting, and she asked that the hearing be postponed until December to give her time to do so.

“I did review the packet,” she said, “but sometimes things get added later, toward the end of the meeting. I don’t know what kind of review Mrs. Wilson (county administrator Ramona Wilson, who was not present) does prior to things going in the packet, but there should be an ordinance for a CUP because it’s a zoning action, and we don’t have that.”

Verizon Wireless spokesperson Huey da Silva told the board that delaying the application for a month could mean that construction of the tower would not be able to happen next year, and the board scrambled to figure out a way to schedule another public hearing sooner and still meet legal requirements for advertising the meeting.

It was decided to hold a public hearing on the matter on Monday, Dec. 8, at 3 p.m. in the historic courthouse on Court Street.

In making a motion to that effect, supervisor Dave Jones included the statement that “when we come back in here, we will be prepared to vote on that issue on that day so there are no further delays.”

Erard then stated to the residents attending the meeting that an ordinance is needed to “outline what Verizon needs to do and what any terms of the operation or construction will be.”

“Better to do it right the first time rather than come back and fix it later,” she said. “I know that this is a hiccup, and it’s certainly not something that anyone intended, but it will be worked out and the proper language constructed.”

In response to questioning by Jones, the Verizon representatives said it would be possible for emergency services to place equipment for their pager system on the tower, and Erard said she would address that matter when talking with Verizon.

The Verizon Wireless proposal has been in the works for several months, and the Mathews Planning Commission held a public hearing on the matter on Oct. 14. At that time, planning and zoning director Bobby Andrade recommended approval of the project, and Mathews Broadband Advisory Board chair Judy Rowe offered a glowing endorsement of the efforts Verizon Wireless has made to bring broadband to residents in Mathews County. In addition, Richard Hicks of North expressed satisfaction as a new Verizon Wireless customer. The planning commission unanimously endorsed the application and forwarded its recommendation for approval to the board of supervisors.

The tower proposal

The public hearing, now scheduled for 3 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 8, is on an application for a conditional use permit for The Towers LLC and Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, to place a 195-foot monopole telecommunications tower on a 10,000-square-foot portion of a 27-acre lot belonging to Matthew and Stephanie Lowe of Cobbs Creek.

The purpose of the tower is to improve voice and data services for people who live in the Cobbs Creek area, said Verizon Wireless attorney and spokesperson Lisa Murphy before the public hearing was postponed. She said that 78 percent of people now use only wireless at home, and she outlined ways in which good connectivity is a necessity in today’s world, especially when it comes to economic development in an area. She explained that the tower would be 190 feet from the closest public right-of-way, would sit in a 10,000-square-foot compound, and will be screened from view except for what can be seen above the treeline. She said none of the Lowes’ neighbors had submitted any input on the proposal.

The lengthy packet Verizon submitted to the board contains detailed engineering site plans showing tower placement, as well as placement and construction of security fencing, concrete pads, and access; images depicting the visual impact of the proposed tower on the neighborhood; and extensive wetlands delineations.

In other matters, the board:

—Unanimously adopted a resolution approving a seven-year, zero-interest funding proposal with the technology and software company Verkada to integrate the security cameras and door entry controls in Mathews County Public Schools with the system in the Mathews Sheriff’s Office. This will allow the sheriff’s office to track incidents in real time, monitor lockdowns, access floor plans, and open and close doors remotely, as necessary. The cost will be $40,000 down and six annual payments of $60,451.42;

—Unanimously adopted a resolution accepting a grant award from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services for $122,588 for personnel and $25,000 for supplies for two school resource officers and agreeing to fund the required cash match of $89,960 for salaries, $117,668 for equipment, and $8,000 for radio equipment in the following ways: $89,960 for salaries from Mathews County Public Schools salary funding, $75,000 from opioid funds and $42,779 from the fund balance for equipment, and $8,000 from the sheriff’s office for radio equipment;

—Unanimously adopted a resolution to execute an agreement with Sensei Enterprises for managed IT services at a cost not to exceed $213,250 for an initial two-year term, and

—Heard an update on various road projects from VDOT’s Saluda Residency Administrator Lee McKnight.