Port Stephens Council has approved a second mobile phone monopole alongside the Fishermans Bay Road water tower, but not before another drawn-out debate among the councillors at its August 13 meeting.
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There was plenty of sympathy from councillors for nearby residents - significantly that of Charlie Douglas and partner whose bedroom sits less than 100m from the telecommunications structure.
At one stage Cr Ken Jordan accused his fellow ward councillor Gicomo Arnott of disrespecting public access speaker Mr Douglas, who had presented his case for a single monopole.
"In 17 years on council this would be the first time I have seen a resident abused by a councillor," remarked Cr Jordan.
Ultimately, councillors resolved to approve a second tower, and paving the way for long suffering residents from Boat Harbour to finally access mobile phone reception.
"I am pleased that Boat Harbour residents will get their mobile coverage," said Mr Douglas. "We the residents have put our trust in the council staff and the councillors and they have made their decision ... we will now have two poles less than 100m from our bedroom window."
At its July 6 council meeting, councillors voted 9-1 to defer the Optus DA to erect a monopole 40 metres from the existing Telstra pole in the hope that co-location would be a viable option.
"The consultation identified that it is not possible to co-locate the facilities on the one monopole", the council report stated, because to do so "the structure would need to extend up to 45 metres in height and be redesigned to a larger lattice structure tower".
One by one the councillors expressed their sympathies to residents and the families of children attending a nearby childcare centre. Sentiments included: "I feel sorry for the residents but our hands are tied." "Reliable phone reception in Boat Harbour is a life and death situation".
However, there was some caution when it came to the possibility of future health risks: "Fifty years ago we were told that asbestos was not harmful," said Cr Le Mottee.
The Optus tower approval has the support of federal MP Meryl Swanson, who expressed her relief that residents would be finally getting reliable access to mobile phone service.
"This is important as we approach the summer months when Port Stephens welcomes thousands of visitors to the coast. The new towers from both Optus and Telstra are a relief to the dozens of people who have contacted me to express their concerns about the lack of mobile service in the event of storms, black outs, bushfires, medical emergencies and other unforeseen tragedies."
