The company slated to build a proposed cell phone tower in Bremen appears to have abandoned the project.
Although representatives from the company, Global Tower Partners, (GTP) did not respond to repeated requests for comment, the Bremen resident with whom the company held a lease agreement said the contract expired and was not renewed.
The Bremen Planning Board approved plans for the tower at their Dec. 8, 2009, meeting. The original plan was to build the tower on Clyde Genthner’s property on Waldoboro Road in late March or early April of last year.
However, in Jan. 2010 GTP said they hadn’t found a cell phone provider to use the tower, and the project might face delays.
Last January, Terry Armant, Senior Vice President of Development at GTP said, “We want to build it, and we haven’t scrapped the project, but we’re not going to spend the money until we have a tenant.”
It appears that the company may not have found a willing tenant, because Genthner said that his contract with GTP expired in Nov. 2010 and was not renewed.
“For the last three years, they’ve renewed it every November,” Genthner said. “This year, I never heard a word.”
Genthner said he hasn’t heard any news about the tower since last January. “Which is too bad, because the money they offered me would have come in handy,” he said.
Originally, Verizon Wireless was slated to use the tower, but they backed out, Armant said early last year.
The Town of Bremen was excited about the possibility of the tower being built, several officials and residents said.
“We’re all very excited,” said Wendy Pieh, Chairman of the Bremen Selectmen, early last year. “When your fire and rescue can’t get cell reception, it’s a big problem.”
The tower would have held repeaters for the Bremen Fire Department at no cost to the town.
No one on the Planning Board or Board of Selectmen remembered any members of the public being against the tower.
“Only one person showed up to the public meeting,” said Roger Grover, Bremen’s Code Enforcement Officer at the time, “and they were for it.”
