Mike Tsirelis stood on the spot marked for installation of a cell tower in an easement in front of his home on Imperial Drive on Dec. 7, refusing to budge until the people who authorized the dig could be reached.
Eventually, the contractors moved to a home on Snowbird Drive four blocks away and began tearing up another yard for installation of a tower.
At the time, Tsirelis said he learned about the 36-foot-tall cell tower construction several weeks ago when he saw people spray painting the utility easement in front of his home.
His fight seemed to be a lost cause because Cincinnati Bell is a public utility and the tower was going in the public right-of-way. He and his neighbors started emailing and calling state and local officials, the utility company that was building the tower for Verizon, to no avail.
Neighbors showed up en mass at the trustees meeting on Tuesday. At that time Bryan Behrmann, the township’s director of planning and zoning, said Butler County issued permits for the towers to be erected, then revoked them, saying it needed to look into the matter further.
Pichler emailed this newspaper Thursday evening.
“Cincinnati Bell and Liberty Township will continue to meet in an effort to identify new locations that will provide residents with outstanding coverage and minimize the aesthetic impact on the community,” Pichler wrote. “Cincinnati Bell takes its role in the community seriously and is committed to being a good neighbor as we serve the needs of local consumers and businesses.”
Tsirelis’ wife, Dawn, said they were “pleased and relieved” the cell towers won’t be erected in front of their house or their neighbor’s.
“I think this situation has given all parties the opportunity to look at how how their notification procedures and permit/site evaluation should always align with principals of social responsibility and good stewardship,” she wrote in an email to this newspaper.
“This is an example of how you, a regular citizen, can actually change what you believe to be an injustice. It took a tremendous amount of time and determination by many, but with the support of our community and those elected to serve us, we were able to get it done,” she said.
She also is reassured that Cincinnati Bell will proceed in its hunt for new locations knowing they can’t just bulldoze their way in.
“It is also encouraging that Cincinnati Bell and township and county officials will now proceed with a heightened awareness of the many critical factors that must be considered when identifying and evaluating future sites for these types of structures,” Tsirelis wrote.
The utility company did not notify the neighbors of their plans, and Pichler at the time said they could have handled the situation better.
“We probably did not do as good a job as we should have in communicating with homeowners,” he said.
Liberty Twp. Trustee Christine Matacic said the phone company has “backed off” the township until they can all sit down have a discussion about the potential towers. She said they will address the fact Cincinnati Bell left the residents in the dark on their intentions.
“I think that is very high on our priority list,” she said. “If you are going to be doing something, communication is a key in making sure people understand what’s happening, why, and it opens up a two-way street.”
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