City Commission recently denied an AT&T request to build a cell phone transmission tower at the Kingfisher County Fairgrounds during its November meeting.

The action came after a lengthy discussion on the effect of such a tower on the Kingfi sher Municipal Airport located about three-quarters of a mile north of the fairgrounds, as well as safety issues at the fairgrounds.

AT&T proposed a 173-foot tower.

Cole Talbott of CRB Group, engineering consultants, said the Federal Aviation Administration had approved a 224-foot tower at the location.

However, due to earlier city objections, planners went back to AT&T to see if a 173-foot tower would meet its needs and were told the shorter tower would be fine.

Talbott said he felt that CRB had met all due diligence requirements and asked for approval that day, noting that it would take two to three years to build a cell site, starting from this point.

Bill Reitz, Kingfisher Airport Authority member who attended a meeting on the tower request a year ago, said in his opinion the proposed tower still poses a hazard to the airport.

“I understand there’s transmission lines at the airport,” Reitz said, referring to the engineering reference to other structures immedi-system for aircraft that allows pilots to determine their position and stay on course), is being decommissioned by the FAA.

“Our only real option is a GPS approach and it’s expensive,” Reitz said. “That’s the biggest concern with the airport authority is that it will increase the ceiling minimum to the point where we can’t have instrument approach.”

Commissioner Kyle Mueggenborg added: “I think it will limit our ability to grow the airport.

“A lot of times in the corporate world they have to use instrument approach to come in even when there’s not a cloud in the sky. As a pilot, the last thing I want to do is have to be worried about another tower when I’m coming into the airport.”

Other objections included aesthetics of having a tower at the fairgrounds and the potential for other hazards to those using the fairgrounds.

Mecklenburg also added this remark:

“I understand that AT&T is trying to utilize the best area to benefit its business, but in my opinion it’s not the best decision for our city to put a tower right there. I’m not telling AT&T we don’t want them to be able to increase customer service to the customers they have located here, it’s just not the right location.”

AT&T had multiple representatives at the meeting.

An AT&T spokeswoman discussed the company’s need to expand capacity for customers in this vicinity.

She said there are a limited supply of frequencies, adding a tower to the south of town is at its limit and a tower to the north of town is also at its limit, or very close, and it doesn’t provide coverage into the town.

“A year or two from now you’ll see slow data and blocked calls. It’s going to support the traffic of the town for the next five or 10 years,” a spokesperson said.

AT&T’s goal is to place the tower where it’s going to have maximum impact on that traffic, balancing the site to the south.

“The best location is what we want,” according to a spokesperson.

Responding to a question from Mayor Roxie Alexander, an AT&T spokesperson said a preferred location would be at the corner of Main Street and Broadway Avenue (downtown Kingfisher) where clean hand-overs could be made from the site to the north and south.

The spokesperson said bandwidth would be designed to aid first responders.

“I feel like it’s a great thing for the community and we would ask for approval today.”

Mecklenburg commented that the tall structures the AT&T spokesman referred to in his presentation were a considerable distance both east and west of the airport.

A spokesperson said the people that tell AT&T what’s proper and what’s not, the FAA and Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, have signed off on that, adding, “All we can do is defer to the experts.”

Commissioners asked if other locations for such a tower have been researched, leading to the remarks about the urgency to get the tower built.

Regarding concern about the aesthetics of such towers, Engineer Troy Williams said FCC prohibits blocking on aesthetics.

He said the proposed fairgrounds location is already 20 feet below the airport’s elevation.

Regarding other objections, he said:

“We will have ice bridges built around the facility to break ice; have devices put on towers to keep birds off — to keep from nesting and AT&T would fence a large area for safety.”

Three or four different sites have been considered, but the fairgrounds site is the only candidate that meets the requirement, the commission was told.

After discussion, AT&T requested the matter be tabled, but it was denied unanimously on a motion by Mecklenburg and second by Commissioner Bill Tucker. Commissioner Richard Reynolds abstained because he said AT&T had contacted him about a tower on property he owns.

During discussion after votes were taken, Mecklenburg asked if the AT&T request would become a continuous cycle.

City Attorney Jared Harrison said the city decision could be appealed to district court, but added the city commission has significant latitude in deciding what can go on within city limits.

In other action, commissioners approved:

• A conditional use permit for Brock Pappe for a metal storage building at 2401 S. 14th St.;

• A 5 % Christmas bonus for all city staff on top of COLA increases (total cost $177,000); and,

• Returning an easement for Kingfisher Trails at Briscoe Crossing to the city (something that had been overlooked earlier) as well as the bridge over Trails West and Vancoe Addition.

City Manager Dave Slezickey said there are plans for an open house at the new police department headquarters when the transition is complete.

He also reported that city sales tax receipts continued downward “a little bit” and that city crews repaired systems that went down during the recent ice storm in a timely manner.

Slezickey discussed the work - and extra work done by each department during the disaster.

He said the city sustained significant damage, primarily from limbs falling on service lines.

Commissioners praised the work of city employees both during the recent ice storm and the “unusual” year of 2020.