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Candidates press for faster action on cell service; landfill RFP, temporary fixes cited
Summary
At the Concord Business Partnership forum candidates said poor cell coverage in downtown and at the high school is a public-safety and business problem; they urged accelerated permitting, professional technical advice and stronger town advocacy to secure towers or interim service.
Concord selectboard candidates at a town forum described inadequate cellular coverage in parts of Concord as a safety and economic problem and urged faster, coordinated action to secure service.
The moderator noted losses to businesses and safety concerns raised by police and fire. Candidates said a combination of policy changes, targeted permitting and outside technical help are needed to move the issue forward.
Elizabeth Akers Moore said the lack of reliable service has reached the point where public-safety officials “don’t think it’s safe because they can’t call back on a secure line to their stations,” and called for outreach to carriers rather than waiting for them to act.
Several candidates reported progress on discrete fronts: Mary Hartman said a vendor, Wireless Edge, has submitted a request for proposals (RFP) for the landfill and is interested in other town sites including the Kai’s Road campus; Hartman also said temporary cellular capacity will be brought in for the Concord 250 celebration. Paul Baum recommended the select board “own” the issue and consider professional consulting to evaluate near‑term and future technologies; Joel Lauren said the town needs to stop “kicking the can down the road” and make a decision.
Speaker comments noted regulatory and geographic constraints: candidates said a wireless overlay district and conservation/federal land restrictions remove much of Concord’s acreage from easy siting—Hartman quantified it that roughly 24.36 of the town’s 24.5 square miles are currently restricted by conservation, federal land or overlay rules. Candidates urged the planning board (which controls bylaw changes) and town meeting to relax rules that inhibit carrier deployment.
Candidates proposed interim measures—portable units or leased temporary sites—while the town advances longer-term placements, and several urged a clear public communications plan to explain choices and trade-offs. All four candidates said they would push to accelerate permitting and to coordinate departments and committees to reduce process delays.
