Vienna council debates priorities and a town‑owned cell tower to fix a downtown dead zone

Vienna Town Council spent much of its work session refining how it will set and use council priorities this year and heard a proposal to use town land to address long‑standing cellphone coverage gaps.

Councilmember Jessica and others opened a wide-ranging discussion of what the council should prioritize in 2026, naming parks investments, communications strategy, traffic signal synchronization and an updated comprehensive plan as candidate priorities. Councilmember Chuck urged members to put their priorities in writing; the mayor asked members to return written lists so staff can produce a ranked set of priorities. Town Manager Mercury told the council he will add a regular agenda item on Jan. 26 to consider the council priorities formally, and Finance Director Stephen Barlow asked members to submit individual rankings by Jan. 31.

A notable proposal came from Councilmember Francis, who recommended building a 120‑foot cell tower on the Northside Property Yard. Francis said the tower would “patch a well known gap in service around Northside Property Yard, the Town Green and homes within a 3 mile radius,” and that a third‑party developer such as American Tower could build and lease the structure to carriers, including AT&T FirstNet, Verizon and T‑Mobile, potentially generating lease revenue for the town.

Several council members expressed support for addressing coverage gaps but urged caution about next steps. One member noted procurement and zoning constraints, saying the town “can't identify a company” before a competitive process and that code changes may be needed to allow towers of the suggested height. Town Manager Mercury and staff suggested looking first at lower‑cost or regulatory 'low‑hanging fruit,' such as exploring colocation on the town's existing water tower or athletic‑field lighting, before pursuing a standalone tower.

Council did not take formal action on the cell‑tower idea but agreed the coverage problem merits follow‑up. As a near‑term step, members agreed to put written priorities to staff by Friday the 16th (internal deadline discussed) so the council can review consolidated proposals ahead of the Jan. 26 agenda discussion.

What happens next: staff will compile members' written priorities and return a proposed ranked list for formal council consideration on Jan. 26. Any project requiring regulatory or procurement changes will be routed through the appropriate planning and legal review.