Truesdale aldermen indicated last week that they’re leaning toward rejection of a proposed 485-foot radio tower near Veterans Memorial Parkway, but stopped just shy of taking a vote during a June 9 public meeting.

East Central Broadcasting, a small broadcaster based in Washington, is asking for an exemption to Truesdale’s 200-foot limit on broadcasting towers. It wants to build the tower in a 5-acre field off of Veterans Memorial Parkway, behind the Hart Collision repair shop.

After speaking with a small group of residents and having another round of talks with the broadcaster on June 9, aldermen remained concerned about the future possibility of a tower collapse. They said they saw few positive reasons to accept that risk so close to several businesses and major roadways.

“What benefit is it to Truesdale? It’s of limited benefit. ... I think that’s probably the biggest factor,” said Alderman Jerry Cannon.

Alderman Robert Green said the possibility of debris from a collapsing tower damaging a nearby business, or disrupting traffic on Veterans Memorial Parkway or Interstate 70, is his foremost concern. However, Green seemed to back off previous concerns for nearby residences after confirming the tower would be at least 1,000 feet from houses in the Diekckman Farms subdivision (although homes in Belaire Trailer Park are about half that distance).

Alderman Mike Thomas, who works for the KWRE/KFAV radio station in Warrenton, said he believes the radio tower would be a reliably safe structure as long as it’s properly maintained. But therein lies the concern: How to guarantee the tower will be maintained in perpetuity.

“It’s not that we’re worried about the first year, five years, 10 years,” said Green. “What about in 20 years, or 50 years? At some point, we might have an issue with this thing coming down.”

Company representatives repeated their attempts to reassure the aldermen that the tower would be safe. William Moir with East Central Broadcasting said the company will have a maintenance agreement with a third party, including quarterly inspection of the guy wires that stabilize the tower. The structure will also be over-engineered for stability, he said.

“I’ve built 12 towers around the country. None of them have ever fallen, none have gone into disarray,” Moir commented.

One of the key features of making a tower safe is the guy wires, which hold the tower in one place even if it collapses, Moir said. He said as long as the wires are secure, the tower shouldn’t pose any risk.

“Even one (wire) breaking, it would have to be 10 or 20 years with no maintenance for that to happen,” Moir said.

In an effort to reassure the aldermen that the tower will be well-maintained, Moir said the company is negotiating with George and Dana Heath, who own the land where the tower would be built, to also retain ownership of the tower once it’s constructed. That way, a local property owner with a good reputation would have a stake in the project.

The Heaths also own the Hart Collision property, which is the only structure within 500 feet of the proposed tower site.

Mayor Chris Watson said he was taken by surprise to hear that the company is asking the Heaths to take ownership of the tower, commenting that the property owners had made no mention of it to him. It was curiosity over the position of the Heaths and other nearby business owners that kept the board of aldermen from making an immediate ruling on the tower on June 9.

“I would like to talk to the landowners and George (Heath) about his intent on being an owner, or being responsible for the tower,” Watson said.

“If (Heath’s) going to be an owner in this project, and he’s going to be fine with it falling on his building, hypothetically, I think the site might be OK,” Green reluctantly replied.

The aldermen unanimously agreed to withhold a final decision for another two weeks while they make inquiries with nearby property owners.