Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Nextel Removes American Flag- "Old Glory"

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 07:17:11 -0500

Making waves

Flag removed from Acton cellular tower, but some in town
are disappointed to see it go

By Anthony Flint, Globe Staff

ACTON - It's not that the town has anything against Old Glory. There
are US flag stickers on glass doors at Town Hall, a US flag out front,
and yet another one atop the obelisk in the center of town.
But the town planner here did have some questions about an
American flag flying from a cell tower on top of Great Hill in South
Acton. The tower's operator, Nextel, was asked to hide all antennas
inside a slender, 175-foot pole painted gray-white to match clouds, to
blend in as much as possible; the strategy is known as a ''stealth
flagpole'' design.

Nextel's subcontractor, however, took the flagpole term literally,
slapped a golden ball on top and hoisted the red, white, and blue. And
while the fluttering flag became an instant icon in Acton - it was even
respectfully put at half-staff after the space shuttle disaster - it was not
technically supposed to be there.

''It defeats the purpose of the design,'' said town planner Roland Bartl.
Flying flags from cell towers is increasingly common in more
developed areas, but this site was in the middle of woods and on top
of a hill. The idea at Great Hill was to make the tower unobtrusive and
camouflaged - not to call attention to itself, he said.
''But it's the American flag,'' Bartl said. ''I wasn't going to argue about
it.''

In the end, he didn't have to. Nextel's subcontractor hauled it down last
week, minutes after a Globe reporter arrived at the tower to survey
opinions among local residents. A Nextel spokeswoman said the
company had already decided to stop displaying the flag, and the
timing was coincidental. A number of people said they were sad to
see it go.

''He came down in a Jeep and I was shouting at him, `Hey, put that flag
back,''' said Sandra Tracy, who can see the tower as a clerk at South
Acton Mobil. ''With everything going on with the economy and the war
and terrorism, I was proud to see it up there. How could you argue with
that?''

The rise and fall of the flag on Great Hill reflects a swirl of passions -
patriotism, a universal desire to hide ugly cell towers that have
become such a ubiquitous feature on the landscape, and the
relentless quest by wireless companies to erect the towers and
eradicate spotty coverage.

''They have one in Stow that looks like a pine tree,'' said David
George, a mechanic at South Acton Mobil who agrees with strategies
to make cell towers less severe-looking structures. ''I think it's a good
idea.''

Tracey Boyd, manager of Dianela's Tacorito on Main Street across
from the tower, also approved of the idea of a cell
tower-turned-flagpole. ''If you really need to have these things, what
better way?''

John Conover, however, begged to differ. His house is at the base of
Great Hill, conservation land owned by the Acton Water District, which
leases the site for not one but two cell towers. The undisguised tower
may be visually unappealing, but putting a flag on top is not the
answer either, Conover said.

''I can hear it flapping outside my window,'' he said. ''It's a disturbance.
They should have asked people what they thought about it - they just
spent the money and they didn't even ask.''

Bartl said one person complained about the flag, saying it was not
appropriate for the site and that its fluttering and snapping in the wind
was probably scaring nesting birds in the area.

The complaint was passed along to the town zoning enforcement
officer, who ruled that the flag was legal - despite the fact that a flag
was not expressly permitted by the Planning Board, which issues the
special permits for cell towers.

Bartl was still not happy with the flag but was not going to pursue it
further, acknowledging the sensitivity of people's views on the
American flag.

Diane Rainey, a spokeswoman for Nextel, originally said the town
knew all about the flagpole design and flag, but later said the
company never intended for the flag to be flown. The standard kit for
the tower included the tubular sheathing for the monopole itself - the
antennas are all hidden inside - as well as a golden ball for the top
and a flag, which the subcontractor assumed should all be
assembled, Rainey said.

Nevertheless, the flag was left up for several weeks, and even brought
to half-staff after the Columbia disaster. But then Nextel decided, last
week, that the flag could not stay up, mostly because the wind ''loads''
from the flapping banner were putting too much stress on the tower.
Also, Rainey said, the flag was not illuminated at night, which is called
for under American flag etiquette when flags are not taken down at
sunset and hoisted at sunrise every day.

Maintenance is a tricky issue as well at a flag-flying, 100-foot cell tower
at the Fox Meadow Crossing office park in Northborough. ''Sometimes
the flag is flying and sometimes it's not,'' said town planner Kathy
Joubert, who said the flag was required by the Planning Board as a
condition of the permit. ''My guess is putting a 20-by-30 foot flag up
every morning is probably quite a chore.''

Flags attached to cell towers must be especially large to be in
proportion with poles that soar 100 to 175 feet high. Even then, cell
towers made to look like flagpoles never look entirely right, because
normal flagpoles taper at the top, and the tubular sheathing hiding the
antennas generally does not.

http://digitalmass.boston.com/news/globe_story.html?uri=/dailyglobe2/058/metro/Making_waves-.shtml

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