A proposal to erect a 140-foot cell tower in Maybrook has moved one step closer to fruition. At a recent meeting, the village board voted unanimously to sign an option land lease with Liberty Towers LLC 6T Towers for village-owned land at 201 Charles Street, near the Public Works garage. The lease would cover a 103x116-foot parcel there.

“This is a great deal,” Mayor Dennis Leahy said. “It will bring revenue to the village and provide better cell service for our residents. It’s a good thing.”

The proposal now goes to the village planning board for a special use permit. Liberty Towers may also have to get village zoning board of appeals approval for “relief” from required setbacks, rear yard and pole height.

The proposed tower with a 70-foot pole would house seven cell phone company antennae, said Liberty Towers representative Greg Alvarez at a prior meeting. The site would also house four cell phone “tenant facilities” for Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and First Net with cables connecting those small buildings to the tower. Alvarez had estimated only about 40 percent of the leased site would include actual tower and buildings. There would be little to no parking accommodations, he said, because workers are only expected to visit the site approximately once a month. Alvarez estimated the facility could increase signal coverage up to three-quarters of a mile.

“The village will receive funds from 6T Towers for the option while the proposal proceeds through the Planning Board process,” Leahy noted, “and after construction will receive a percentage of the rent received from the use of the tower. The construction of the tower will be beneficial to the residents as it will increase service throughout the village and will provide an additional source of revenue to help offset tax increases.”