March 22. By Dave Vieser. Fourteen months after a 3-2 vote by the Town Board, the new 199 foot Cottonwood Cell Tower near Jetton Road is still not in service. However, crews are adding equipment near the top of the tower, which is visible throughout the west side of Cornelius.

At the time of the hearing on the cell tower in January 2021, proponents claimed that the tower was needed to improve cell phone reception on the west side of Cornelius and out into Lake Norman.

“They are adding the saddle bags to the tower this week,” said Anthony Grisanti, who lives in Lake Norman Cove, which is adjacent to the tower.

The 3-2 vote on the tower—Denis Bilodeau and former Commissioner Jim Duke were opposed—was one of several decisions which saw four of five incumbents town board members lose the November election, including Duke.

JIM DUKE

At the time, Duke said he would name the tower for the commissioners who voted for it: Michael Miltich, Thurman Ross and Tricia Sisson. Of course, all three lost.

Bilodeau was the only incumbent re-elected.

“I have been advocating for our town to take an aggressive approach to understanding our options to improve cell tower placement and overall reception . I believe I have some support from our new board,” Bilodeau said.