BEATRICE – The Gage County Board has rejected a permit application for a 220-foot telecommunications tower in Filley Township, on a 5-2 vote. The permit sought by Industrial Tower West working with Viaero Wireless had recently met with public opposition during a hearing two weeks ago.


Meanwhile, the board approved a permit for a tower sought by NextLink near Liberty, Nebraska…on a 7-0 vote.


Supervisor Terry Jurgens made the motion to reject the permit for the tower about a mile and a half northwest of Filley, citing specific reasons. "There were over 300 people within a six-mile radius that signed a petition against this special use permit, both residents and landowners." Jurgens also cited economic impact, and businesses or agribusinesses being affected near the site. Jurgens said a site east of Filley better met needs and he added, "Local citizens wanted to meet with the tower company, and they refused to meet with them."


Jurgens, Emily Haxby, Erich Tiemann, Eddie Dorn and Gary Lytle…all Republicans, voted in opposition to the permit. Board members Don Schuller and Dave Swavely, both Democrats, opposed rejecting it. Schuller said the issue was a tough one….and involved a project that was in his 6th District. He said rejecting it was not in the best interests of the county. He said he understood the feelings of neighbors in that area, but impact on things like land values and ag business is subjective.


"These companies spend a lot of money to come here.....to research coming here. It's not cheap to get to this point, when our regulations say that it is allowed...and then only come here, to get turned down. I'm concerned that future businesses will not even look at us because there's too big a risk that they'll get turned down. We have planning and zoning, we have regulations, but then we tweak it for each situation....we move the goalposts....and they get turned down."


Schuller felt it wasn’t the board’s business to determine the need for the tower location…because officials aren’t in the telecommunications business.


Board member Emily Haxby said part of the permit application included the offer of broadband services, but she said the reported numbers by the company to the state and the FCC did not match what it could provide.
"This is I think the first.....granted this only my first term on the board...this is the first one for a tower application I've seen this much opposition for. As we represent the constituents of Gage County that's kind of what we have to listen to, as well."


Board Chairman Erich Tiemann noted the county will probably start seeing more towers in southern Gage County.  "NextLink was awarded funding for the southern part of the county, and a lot of those will be fixed wireless towers or some type of structure that will be providing internet down in that area. So, this isn't the beginning of towers and it won't be the end of them."


Schuller said the seven criteria the county considers on such permit applications could be argued equally either way, for approval or denial.


County Attorney Roger Harris says the petition submitted did not force a super majority vote for permit approval, because it wasn’t filed with the county in a timely manner.