Cell tower companies are pushing to install giant towers throughout our valley, on the Chilkat Islands, and along the west side of Lynn Canal, without any regard for how it will affect our community. The health impacts of 5G may still be unsettled within the scientific community, but the impact of towers approaching 200 feet in height on our viewsheds and property values is not debatable. We live here and visitors come here in large part because of the beauty of this place – our mountains, glaciers, and forests shouldn’t be eclipsed by giant steel towers with multiple antennas and flashing lights. Cell service in Haines is more than adequate until cruise ships arrive in the summer. Because the ships charge for cell service, passengers wait until they reach port to use their phones and computers, impacting local service and effectively transferring the cost of their cell service to us. There is another option: mobile “micro-towers” –30 feet tall are often rolled in for sporting events and concerts, and rolled back into storage when an event is over. The cruise line corporations can certainly afford to provide micro-towers while in port and store them out of sight when they leave. Their passengers would get the cell service they want, and we wouldn’t bear the brunt of permanent tower installations that will impact us aesthetically and economically forever. Please ask the Mayor and Assembly members to support the values that inspired so many of us to make this our home.
Gershon Cohen