Skepticism from city council on company erecting multiple 75-foot cell towers in La Crosse

Putting up 13 towers would cost company nothing through city’s public right of way.

There now appears to be more skepticism about cell phone towers in La Crosse after a meeting Monday drew attention to the 75-foot towers a company wants to erect around the city.

Mobilitie had proposed putting 13 tours up throughout the city to meet with current demand.

La Crosse city council member Ryan Cornett’s not buying it.

“I’ve had some call drops, but I’m in the middle of a concrete building right now, speaking to you, so I don’t have any problems with it,” he said.

The company, putting the towers up for Sprint users, says demand for data is drastically increasing.

Cornett isn’t thrilled about the California company’s plan to put towers up on the city’s public right of way.

He would like to see Mobilitie come back with a plan to attach towers to existing structures in the city.  

“They rent sections off of other buildings,” Cornett explained. “You can notice them downtown if you know what you’re looking for. 

“It does cost money to rent those and do that, so I would them to come back and do what everyone else is doing. And, try to find locations that aren’t as intrusive.”

Before Tuesday’s meeting, Mobilitie withdrew it’s application but said it would reintroduce the plan again “as soon as possible.”

Cornett is worried about a couple things. First, he worries a bit about the company sidestepping public regulation altogether. It can cost big bucks to put towers on private property. Mobilitie could put them up on public land and pay the city virtually nothing.  

Second, Cornett is a little concerned about what’s next from the company.

“I’m really curious to see what happens here,” he said. “I know the community is now aware of it so they’ll be watching it closely, and I hope the media stays aware of it and (we don’t) take our eye off the ball and go, ‘Where did that giant tower come from?'”

The towers only have to go through a city-permitted process simply because they’re planned for the public right of way.