What's happening with the proposed 150-foot cell phone tower near the Skyway Plaza Shopping Center in St. Petersburg?

More than a year ago, some rankled residents of the neighborhood vowed to fight off Ridan Industries' plan to build a wireless communication tower on 62nd Avenue S.

Residents cited aesthetic concerns about the steel tower in a residential area and possible health implications of long-term exposure to it. More than 100 people signed petitions against the tower.

The issue generated a fair amount of discord and division among members of the Greater Pinellas Point Civic Association. Some members who vigorously opposed it lived within yards of the proposed site. Others lived a mile away.

In February, the city's Environmental Development Commission unanimously approved Ridan Industries' request for a setback variance, making way for construction of the tower.

"It's a done deal; the pole is now up," said Claude Jenet, vice president of the civic association.

Jenet said wireless carriers will begin using the cell tower to relay signals in the next two weeks or so, bringing reliable cell phone service to residents.

"Some people east of 34th Street S didn't have cell phone service at home, so they were most anxious to get the antenna built," Jenet said.

At one point, Ridan Industries offered to appease dissenters by disguising the tower as a flag pole complete with an American flag, but not all the residents supported the idea, Jenet said.

But now that the wrangling is over and the cell tower is up, things have settled down, he added.

"You can't make everybody happy all the time, but at least they can use their cell phones at home now."