File Photo The Chautauqua Town Board this week voted to approve the construction of a 130-foot monopole tower on East Lake Road.

MAYVILLE — Following a public hearing on Monday, the Chautauqua Town Board voted unanimously to move forward with the construction of a new telecommunications tower in Dewittville.

The proposed 130-foot monopole tower will be constructed at 5392 E. Lake Road and accessed off Springbrook Road, and was previously approved by the Chautauqua Town Zoning Board with the provision that the area include landscaping.

Jared C. Lusk of Nixon Peabody, the Buffalo-based legal firm representing Verizon Communications Inc., was present at the hearing to answer questions from residents about the proposed tower.

One resident whose home is within 500 feet of the proposed site questioned the location of the tower, and whether or not it could be built in a more secluded area on Tyler Road.

Lusk explained that the site was chosen for optimal transmission of cell phone service within the area, and stated that the monopole tower will not be required to have a warning light for aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration Requires that structures in excess of 200 feet, or those located in common flight paths, must have safety lights.

Plans for the tower include a cabinet at the base, and a small 25-watt light on an automatic shutoff timer that would be used during routine maintenance.

Lusk said that other cell phone towers in the area are currently working at capacity, and that the addition of this tower would decrease the burden on those towers while increasing service in the area.

One Dewittville resident said that her home currently has limited cell phone and internet coverage, and that any additional communications service would be welcomed.

Questions from those in attendance also covered the topic of public health as it relates to telecommunications transmissions. The tower in question would not be used for new 5G transmissions, which transmit information at a higher frequency than current cell phone towers.

Lusk offered a brief history of cell phone transmission technology over the last five generations, and also provided those in attendance with a new coverage map that would be serviced by the new tower.

One resident expressed the concern that current Federal Communications Commission guidelines for acceptable radio frequency transmissions are not up-to-date and are less stringent than those in Europe.