Wayland Select Board opens deliberations on blocking Rod and Gun Club cell tower

WAYLAND -- July 15, 2019, Wayland Select Board opens formal review of buying Rod and Gun Club land to block a cell tower. Town Administrator Louise Miller told members the 120-day Chapter 61B clock began with the club's late-June postmark and that exercising the right of first refusal would require an appraisal within 30 days plus a town meeting vote. Resident Tom Gulley, presenting 175-plus signatures, called the proposed 120-foot Verizon tower a "forced intrusion" and argued selectmen face "no such constraints" the Zoning Board did under federal law. Miller noted that a town-owned tower could provide a redundant public-safety antenna after a recent Reeves Hill lightning strike knocked out police-fire dispatch. The board also approved 5-0 a $480,000 River's Edge renewal anticipation note at 2.16 percent, adopted the FY21 budget schedule, and reappointed Robert Farrington as a ZBA associate.