BENTONVILLE -- County planners on Wednesday reviewed plans for an emergency communications tower on Whitney Mountain.
The Planning Board reviewed plans for the tower at 12487 Lodge Drive near Garfield, owned by the Lost Bridge Village Community Association.
The county wants to replace an 80-foot-tall communications tower with a modern, 150-foot-tall monopole. The new tower would improve emergency communication coverage in eastern Benton County.
Robert McGowen, emergency services administrator, presented the plans to the board, which had few questions. Ashley Tucker, board chairman, asked McGowen if the tower was "climbable" and there have been problems with cell towers elsewhere involving unauthorized access by people trying to climb towers. Planning regulations call for a 6-foot-tall fence around the tower site topped with either barbed wire or razor wire. McGowen said the property owners association also has asked the tower site be fenced. The tower plan will be the subject of a public hearing at the board's June 7 meeting.
Also at Wednesday's meeting, the board approved plans for a parking expansion at the Pepper Source plant in the 11000 block of North Old Wire Road near Rogers. According to plans submitted to the county, the company is seeking a marked pedestrian crossing between the new parking areas east of Old Wire Road and the plant site.
The board also reviewed plans for a 20,000-square-foot warehouse at the Tufco Flooring facility on 7.5 acres near Arkansas 59 at Arkotex Road. The warehouse will be separate from a manufacturing building, according to plans. It will be used to store sand used in the industrial flooring operations. The plan will be the subject of the public hearing June 7.
Plans for the Hawks Landing Estates subdivision also were reviewed by the board Wednesday. David Hawkins presented plans to develop a 22-lot, gated subdivision on about 92.5 acres on Beaver Lake, east of Avoca. The subdivision plans also will be the subject of a June 7 public hearing by the planning board.
NW News on 05/18/2017