Rockford council nixes request for pole

ROCKFORD - Village council members at Tuesday's meeting rejected a request to put a 120-foot utility pole on Main Street to provide infrastructure for smartphones and other technology.

Permitting manager John Bear of Mobilitie said a "sleek, stealth-looking pole" would have provided bandwidth for various technologies to establish or enhance signals in the Rockford area.

"It is to allow and enable to meet the demand of today, well into the future, and better serve first-responders and hospitals," Bear said.

Most council members took no issue with the concept but objected to placing the pole on Main Street.

"Is there somewhere else in the vicinity that (it could be placed) like on our water tower?" councilor John Dooley asked.

Bear said the company's radio frequency department had settled upon only one site: Main Street.

Council members told Bear they would consider the request again if another site were selected.

In other action, board members approved paying bills totaling $26,459, accepted the local government fund estimate for 2017 of $28,764 and accepted the amounts and rates of current levies being collected at $24,280 for the general fund levy and $37,613 for the current expenses levy.

Council members also heard a presentation from Margie Griesdorn about the Out of the Darkness Community Walk sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The walk is slated for Oct. 15 at the Mercer County Fairgrounds with registration at 9 a.m.