City of Waverly votes to erect 195-foot cell tower near park despite residents’ opposition

WAVERLY, Neb. (KLKN) – Almost all locals in attendance at Monday’s city council meeting were in opposition to a 195 ft cell tower being put up on the edge of Lawson Park.

Major concerns included noise, higher property valuations, and aesthetics; however, the city council voted to approve its construction.

The meeting began with an open discussion with the public.

Sean Fike kicked it off alongside his twin daughters, who he says served as both his support system and a way to drive his point home.

“Are we so sure, as we put this next to a ballpark with our children playing ball, that this is not going to harm them in the future?” said Fike.

The tower would be just 425 feet from Fike’s backyard, at the edge of Lawson Park, an area with several ball fields and places families use daily.

“It needs to be somewhere else. Average property values drop by up to 10% when a cellular phone tower is put within eyeshot of residences. Tens and tens of thousands of dollars, all the way down to 141st street, that’s going to be affected by this,” said Fike.

The city council says its Park and Recreation Department would earn $1,000 per month from this, with a $5,000 stipend for each new carrier who joins the tower.

Chad Skinner was also in attendance at the meeting; He says he has been working with the city of Waverly for 6 months now and was there to represent his client, Verizon.

“We can’t just place them in random places that might seem better or an alternative location. It’s kind of like trying to water your yard from a sprinkler that’s two yards away,” said Skinner.

He says radio-frequency experts selected the site, and the proposed plan complies with all zoning mandates.

“In a very simplistic form, there is no site on the north side of town that is providing dominant service for Verizon. They’re experiencing network degradation issues because of that, both in terms of capacity as well as just coverage,” said Skinner.

Fike says he won’t stop fighting to have it moved.

“In closing, I strongly, strongly oppose this. I hope that you consider families, everybody who enjoys that dark, that wonderful western view that we love so much as Anderson North residents,” he said.

Fike tells Channel 8 that he plans to appeal the council’s decision within the next 14 days.