New London - AT&T wants to put a 125-foot cellphone tower in right field at Cannamela Field at Bates Woods to boost mobile phone service in the area.

The Parks & Recreation Commission, which oversees the 11-acre Bates Woods park, hopes money generated from renting out city property - for as much as $2,000 a month - will be used to hire a park ranger.

"It won't cost the city anything,'' Public Works Director Tim Hanser said. AT&T would build the "monopole" tower and maintain it. Rental revenue would go into the city's general fund but could be earmarked for specific purposes, like a park ranger, he said.

The parks commission endorsed the project at its Jan. 4 meeting.

"We would also want to try to get that money to invest in (other) parks,'' Robert Nenna, co-chairman of the commission, said. "We'd like a ranger to oversee things and keep the parks taken care of.''

The commission is overseeing a $1 million rehabilitation of the 11-acre park off Chester Street and behind New London High School. The project includes new playscapes, parking areas, sidewalks, lighting and bathrooms, and improvements to the pavilions and the food service building. A second phase of the project includes renovations to Cannamela Field and a second ball field.

The proposed tower would replace a 100-foot light pole in the field. It would include a 11-by-20-foot equipment shelter, built on a concrete pad, to house a backup generator and other equipment. It would be surrounded by an 8-foot chain link fence.

The tower would enhance mobile phone service south of Interstate 95, from Fogg Plain Road in Waterford to Broad Street, Jefferson Avenue and Route 1, attorney Christopher B. Fisher wrote in a half-inch thick proposal.

"A facility is required in this part of New London in conjunction with other existing and proposed facilities to provide reliable service to the public,'' he said.

The tower also could accommodate two additional wireless carriers.

The proposal has been presented to the City Council and the mayor's office. The City Council has forwarded the request to its Education & Parks Committee for review.

In August, the council delayed plans for a similar tower at Ocean Beach Park after residents opposed the location of the structure. That tower, which would have been 140 feet tall, was proposed by Message Center Management. It would have generated about $2,000 per month in rental fees and an additional 30 percent of gross revenue from up to six tenants on the pole.

Those plans are still pending.

k.edgecomb@the day.com