Transportation has always been about the movement of people, goods and ideas.

At the Yukon Transportation Museum, displays range from air/rail/water/road travel that have gotten people and things around the territory to air radio equipment and transmitters that allowed for the exchange of information and ideas, executive director Janna Powell told council Monday night.

While the latest installation proposed for the museum's property won’t be part of the official collection there, Powell believes it will fit into the museum’s mandate as another piece of “communications equipment.”

Bell Mobility is proposing a 20- to 25-metre monopole cell tower for the site at 30 Electra Cres. after getting the museum and the Yukon government (which owns the property the museum is on) to agree to lease the land.

“It really is the most recent part of a long Yukon transportation story,” Powell told council in a presentation to show support for the tower.

As she pointed out, if the museum had another focus – if it was a castle or a farm museum for example – a cell tower would not likely be appropriate, but with a focus on transportation, a cell tower fits well with the history it focuses on.

As a charitable organization, Powell also pointed out while the lease agreement is still being negotiated, the annual rent from allowing the tower on the site means secure funding for the charitable non-profit museum and conditions the museum is seeking as part of the proposed lease agreement Bell will have with the government have been positively received by Bell, she said.

Among those conditions are ensuring all regulations are met, that a schedule of the work on the tower is provided and in place are safety measures such as regularly measuring output from the tower, proper fencing around it, having insurance in place and so on.

Rent is still being determined, she said, again emphasizing that the lease agreement will be between the Yukon government as the land owner and Bell Mobility, thought the museum is being consulted about it.

“We’re being consulted very well,” she said.

Powell was one of two delegates from the area to attend last night’s meeting showing support for the tower installation.

Hillcrest Community Association president Jim Gilpin told the city he’s pleased with the public consultation process Bell initiated on the proposal.

“I think it’s a win-win-win situation,” he said as he recalled the initial public meetings that proposed the cell tower on the other side of the road.

When the community told Bell officials they didn’t want the tower there and questioned why it couldn’t go to land around the transportation museum, the plans were changed.

While the community association hasn’t taken a formal stand on the proposed tower, Gilpin said he’s “just delighted” with the consultation process and the proposal that’s come forward.

It was a consultation process that went beyond the requirements of Industry Canada, not only including those within the area that would be three times the height of the pole, but also those in the entire community by taking submissions on-line in addition to hosting public meetings about the tower, council heard from Bell.

Bell’s Brock Enderton and Kiersten Enemark of the Standard Land Company, which represents Bell, were also on-hand at council’s meeting to discuss the project.

“Bell cast a wide net,” Enemark said of the consultation detailing the process of public meetings, notifications and online submissions.

As Bell officials told the city last year when it was proposing a new cell tower in Copper Ridge, the demand on the system with the increased use of smart phone technology is straining the system requiring more towers.

The Hillcrest tower is one of the towers it has been proposing for some time in addition to the Copper Ridge tower.

There was significant outcry from the Copper Ridge community last year when that tower was proposed as residents of the area argued the tower could create health issues for those in the area, had the potential to lower property values due to aesthetics and so on.

Council ultimately approved a lease for the land for Bell to install the Copper Ridge tower, but it did not get approval from federal authorities for the tower due to issues with the airport.

Enderton confirmed last night Bell is currently seeking an exemption to that and expects it will be a few months before a decision is made for the Copper Ridge tower.

Meanwhile, it’s continuing with its plans for Hillcrest, part of which requires the company to get the city’s agreement that Bell has conducted the proper consultation on it and the city’s concurrence with the project going ahead.

Council will vote on it at its meeting next week.