Williston
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2025
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
Selectboard moves Verizon plan forward
Rooftop antennas would improve Village cell service, company says BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Both an out-of-state wireless networking company and a local telecommunications industry veteran offered assurances Tuesday that any radiofrequency exposure would be negligible if the Williston Selectboard approves Verizon’s proposal to install a three-pronged antenna atop the Williston Police station. Mindful of the current gap in cellular coverage in Williston Village, board members endorsed the plan, taking an informal vote to allow the town manager to negotiate a lease with Verizon for use of the roof.
“The fact that we have significant dead zones is not acceptable … in a place as modern as Williston.” Steve Shepard Williston Planning Commission
The company proposes to build a 14-by14 foot cupula to house the antennas atop the roof of the police station, located next to Town Hall at 7928 Williston Road. The installation will dramatically improve cell coverage for Verizon users both in the Village — including at Town Hall, the library and Williston Central School — and in other dead zones in town, such as along North Williston Road. That assessment is according to Martin Lavin, an engineer with New Hampshire-based C Squared Systems, which prepared a coverage analysis for the board on behalf of Verizon. “We have town staff who struggle to get calls from their children who are at the school across the street,” board member Greta D’Agostino said of the current coverage
situation. “I spend a lot of my time at (the school), and the lack of ability to communicate constantly concerns me. “I support moving ahead.” Lavin’s report also analyzed anticipated radiofrequency emissions from the antennas, comparing them to what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) considers safe for people living and working nearby. He concluded that only someone who is on top of the police station roof and inside the antenna cupola would be exposed to radiofrequency above the maximum that the FCC allows. The offices of the police and town staff next door, as well as surrounding sidewalks, homes and offices, would all be well below the maximum exposure permitted by the FCC, Lavin concluded. “It should be noted that the limits adopted by the FCC for … exposure incorporate a substantial margin of safety and have been established to be well below levels generally accepted as having the potential to cause adverse health effects,” Lavin wrote in the C Squared report. Steve Shepard, a member of the Williston Planning Commission and a telecommunications industry veteran, offered his take on potential adverse health effects of radiofrequency exposure. He said that research has not established a direct link between the two. “None of the studies are conclusive,” he said. Shepard echoed D’Agostino’s sentiments, saying “the fact that we have significant dead zones is not acceptable … It’s a pain to go through town in a place as modern as Williston and not be able to get connected.” With the selectboard’s endorsement, Verizon will now proceed with construction analysis and drawings for the rooftop cupula in anticipation of reviewing a draft lease agreement, according to Verizon representative Andrew Davis. “We are early in the process,” Davis said. “There is quite a bit of due diligence to perform.”
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Signs of the times Residents come out for a “Stand Up for Democracy” rally Friday in Taft Corners. The event was organized by Champlain Valley Indivisible, a chapter of the national Indivisible Action political action committee “with a mission to elect progressive leaders, rebuild our democracy, and defeat the Trump agenda,” according to the indivisible.org website. OBSERVER PHOTOS BY AL FREY AND RICK COTE
Join Us for Farm-to-Table Brunch! Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM 282 Holland Ln, Williston • farmhousetg.com