After a two-week delay due to an incomplete property appraisal, the borough assembly has approved the lease for a new cell tower. The first tenant of the new tower near the city landfill will be Verizon Wireless, though additional carriers could be added later.
The lease was delayed from the assembly’s July 27 meeting to wait for the appraisal. Lease fees on borough land are based on property value. The lease will be $645 a month.
The payments to the borough will increase if more cell providers are added to the tower.
The assembly approved the lease unanimously at its Aug. 11 meeting.
The assembly in July approved a lease amendment for a taller cell tower to replace an existing pole at Shoemaker Bay. The new tower at the landfill and taller tower at Shoemaker are intended to improve cell coverage in the area.
Some community members have questioned the health risks of the radio signals transmitted from cell towers, including Rosemary Ruoff, who told the assembly Aug. 11 that she is worried about possible health risks to people living near the landfill tower, and that she did not trust the experts who said it would be safe.
A health physicist working for the tower developer told the planning and zoning commission in June that people living close to the tower would experience “one microwatt per centimeter squared. … That’s about 3,300 times less than the public limit.”
There was also some concern among assemblymembers Aug. 11 that the tower might interfere with radio station KSTK’s signal from its transmitter at the landfill building, or possibly even public safety radios. Fire Chief Tim Buness said he did not think that was anything to worry about, as the cell phone signals operate on a much different frequency than fire department radios.
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