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Zanesville council says no to ballpark tower

A communications tower will not be built in the Zanesville Lions Club Ballpark after the town council voted down a rezoning petition at its meeting on Thursday, March 19.

The petition was filed by Skyway Towers, a company that constructs towers and then leases them to wireless telecommunications providers. The request, which sought to rezone an 80-foot by 80-foot portion of the ballpark so that a 180-foot tower could be erected and leased to Verizon, received a neutral recommendation from the Wells County Area Plan Commission at its March 5 meeting before heading council’s way.

Russell Brown, an attorney with Clark Quinn law firm, in Indianapolis, represented Skyway at the meeting and expressed to council that the tower would serve as a “capacity tower,” lightening the load of other nearby towers.

Brown also listed the construction vehicles that would be used to build the tower in an effort to allay the fears of Council President John Schuhmacher that the vehicles would be too harsh on the town’s streets.

Several residents spoke during the meeting, both for and against the petition’s passage. A representative from each camp presented council with signatures in support of their side, with 70 people in favor of the petition and 169 not in favor.

Ultimately, the board’s vote to deny the petition was unanimous, 3-0.

Schuhmacher was uncomfortable with the prospect of setting a precedent for spot rezoning in town while Councilman Dave Frick and Vice President Barbara O’Connor believed that the ballpark was not a good location for a tower.

“The space available didn’t seem like it was adequate to house that along with community activity,” said O’Connor.

The Lions Club had supported the petition as Verizon would have paid it rent each month, which would have gone toward the club’s activities and expenses.

In other business:

Town Marshal Carl Collins was granted permission to spend up to $34,000 on a replacement vehicle for the police department. Collins stated that he was seeking a Chevy Tahoe.

O’Connor expressed interest in seeing a farmers market started up in town, potentially opening in late summer.