Village officials said Hinsdale residents eventually will have an opportunity to comment on any future proposal to install cell phone antennas on the town’s water tower at 57th and Grant streets, just south of Hinsdale Central High School.

During the last few weeks, the possibility of the water tower being used by cell phone companies has been discussed at village and Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education meetings, although no action has been recommended or taken by either body. Any proposals by communications companies to place antennas on the tower would have to go through the standard village permitting process, said Hinsdale Village Manager David Cook.

“We have looked at the possibility a few times over the last seven or eight years, but we won’t begin to move forward on this one until we can work out an easement agreement with School District 86,” Cook said. “But before it comes up to a vote, it would have to go through the regular process of public hearings and review by our Plan Commission.”

The million-gallon water tank, while an attractive potential site for cell phone companies because of its height, is surrounded by District 86 property. It would require an easement agreement with the village for a cell provider to gain access to the tower.

In 2005, Cook said, negotiations with the district regarding an easement agreement for the same site failed to produce a pact.

During a District 86 School Board meeting Monday, June 1, a consultant speaking in favor of the cell tower provided information to the board regarding some specifics of placing antennas on cell towers, including the safety of radio frequency transmissions. Dave Christian, Hinsdale resident and physicist working at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, told the board that cell towers pose no risk to the community.

“I can understand why people do not like the antennas because they are ugly. However, there is no substantial evidence that there are substantial health issues related to cell towers,” Christian said.

Gregory Lapin, a consultant with a background in biomedical engineering, said research has shown an overall drop in cancer rates despite a proliferation of cell phone usage.

“Use of cell phones has gone straight up over the years, yet cancer rates are going down. If it were a problem you, think you would see cancer rates increase,” Lapin said.

But Bill Curry, a retired physicist living in Glen Ellyn, said some research shows cell tower transmissions could have a negative impact on humans and told the board to “be cautious” while evaluating the deal.

District 86 School Board President Dennis Brennan said an agreement is not likely to be inked soon.

“We are in no rush. I am not sure we, as a board, have a consensus on the issue yet,” Brennan said. “We would have to come to an (easement) agreement with the village before anything happens, so it could take some time.”

The water tower in question is less than a few hundred feet from Hinsdale Central and borders on the school’s baseball field near the tennis courts.

Cook said some cell towers already exist in the village, including antennas at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital.