WINSTED, Conn. -- Verizon wants to add a cell tower just west of Winsted, but before that happens, resident said they want to know how high it will be.

Verizon put a balloon up 150 feet in the air from the proposed base of the structure. There are two other cell towers in the area, officials said, but this is tough terrain to cover.

“In a more level terrain in the central part of the state or southeastern Connecticut, you could have three to five miles from the center of the tower,” said state Siting Councilor Derek Phelps. “In Litchfield County, with these kinds of hills, it could be half that.”

The area was visited Tuesday by members of the council, an environmental agency that has the authority to approve or deny a site application, officials said.

The council has the job of balancing the needs of people in the state for utilities and services, like cell phones, members said, with the desire to protect the environment and keep damage to historic and scenic sites to a minimum.

The legislative charge of the Connecticut Siting Council as a general matter is to balance the need for a project at lowest reasonable cost to consumers against the adverse environmental effects that would arise from the construction of the project, officials said.