BEDFORD -- The Bedford County Board of Supervisors approved a special-use permit for one cellphone tower Monday evening and deferred a decision on a second tower proposed by the same carrier, AT&T.

The board voted 4-2 to defer a decision until the full body of supervisors is present. Chairman Steve Arrington was absent Monday evening. Supervisors Roger Cheek and Annie Pollard voted against tabling the vote.

The deferred tower is proposed to go up on Virginia 122, north of Virginia 24, in Moneta. According to the county's planning staff, it is one of eight sites AT&T has planned to boost coverage in the area and to offer continuous coverage along the county's most-traveled corridors.

The other tower discussed Monday evening will be located on Meadors Spur Road in Moneta. It was approved 6-0. No citizens spoke for or against that tower during the public hearing.

The current network is very much a connect-the-dots situation, said Mike Pace, an attorney with Roanoke-based Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, who represents the applicant.

Stewartsville District Supervisor Dale Wheeler acknowledged the importance of the proposed tower to AT&T's network.

"If we don't put in the pearl going up [Virginia] 122, the rest of the string is going to fall apart," he said.

Wheeler introduced the motion to defer a decision on the proposed tower. At the last minute, Pace asked for a continuance, but the board chose to proceed with the vote, which was already on the floor.

Two neighboring property owners spoke against the tower because of its visibility from Virginia 122, Homeplace Road and Bowyers Loop Road.

"There is plenty of places it can be put out there without putting it in our back yard -- somewhere where it is not visible from [Virginia] 122 and Bowyers Loop [Road]," said James Campbell, who owns property near the proposed site.

Two people, including one of the owners of the property where the site is proposed, spoke in favor of the tower. Both cited public safety concerns as their primary motive for supporting the tower.

Last month the county's planning commission voted 3-1 to recommend denying the tower. Commissioners Lynn Barnes, Fred Fralick and Steve Stevick voted for the motion; Curtis Stephens voted against it. Commissioners Robin Hartman, Steve Wilkerson and Rick Crockett were absent.

The deferred tower will be considered at the board's next meeting, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 8 in the County Administration Building.