A telecommunications tower will be constructed next to Western Park's second oval in Warragul.
In return, Baw Baw Shire Council will receive more than $300,000 in lease over the next 20 years.
Despite one councillor strongly disagreeing with the location, the remaining eight councillors voted to grant Optus the lease to construct, maintain and operate a telecommunications network at Strachan Park Reserve.
A light pole swap will now be made and an ancillary cabin built next to the Tarwin St oval, in the vicinity of the undercover seating area on the corner of Meadowbrook Cres.
An officer report said Ventia, on behalf of Optus Mobile, approached council to place a telecommunications tower in Strachan Park in February this year.
Officers determined the most appropriate placement, so as not to impede on day-to-day use of the reserve, was 40 Tarwin St.
The lease is broken into four five-year terms, with the $15,000 annual payment set to increase three per cent per annum.
"The light pole swap is designed to be less invasive as it fits in with the current aesthetic," the report noted.
As part of the agreement, a lighting test will be undertaken to ensure it meets standard.
Public notices were placed on council's website and advertised in The Gazette, with one submission received.
Cr Jazmin Tauru said the tower would offer an array of benefits to the community.
Noting she hadn't been contacted by objectors, Cr Tauru said "for a long time I've heard many complaints about poor service in our area".
"So I consider this a positive addition to the community," she added. "Additionally, I'm very happy about the $15,000 in annual revenue that will be collected for the shire."
Cr Danny Goss, noting the large outage earlier that day, said such telecommunication requests came up regularly.
Whilst acknowledging the requests could attract a "not in my backyard sentiment", Cr Goss said he had received no objections.
"Therefore, happy to support this in the interests of better telecommunications coverage across that area of Warragul," he said. "These things are needed if we're going to keep up in the 21st century, and this is a reasonable spot."
However, Cr Keith Cook hit out at the gall of telco companies and asked, why there?
Cr Cook said towers should be placed at strategic locations around towns rather than "ridiculous placings" which only reminded residents of the price to be paid for technology.
"I find it hard to believe that using a football lighting tower in a gully is the best option for reception," he said. "To place a construction beside Tarwin St that's not dissimilar to a shipping container is off the scale."
Cr Peter Kostos said topography was important in determining telecommunication locations.
"It's very important towers have enough coverage so that people have the best communication they can possibly have," Cr Kostos said.
"That's one reason why this place was mooted by Optus," he added.
Cr Darren Wallace said he voted against a tower in Victoria St, Warragul due to the site being in a church yard within a heritage area.
"This is not so offensive," Cr Wallace said.
"Whilst they're ugly, we need them," he added. "Technologies are advancing and we always have to move with them."
Cr Cook called for a division of the eight-one vote.
Crs Tauru, Goss, Kostos, Wallace, Tricia Jones, Annemarie McCabe and Farhat Firdous voted for and Cr Cook voted against.