Peters Township council tables action on potential cell tower
Hoping to improve service for a larger number of residents, Peters Township council held off on approving a lease agreement with AT&T for a cell tower.
Council tabled approval of the lease at its meeting Monday after township Manager Paul Lauer said the tower could support two cell carriers.
The tower would be about 90 feet tall and located near the football field at Peterswood Park. Lauer informed council that AT&T would also use the tower to light the field.
“The value of that is about $40,000. In addition to that, they’ll be paying $2,000 a month as a lease payment,” Lauer said, adding that the company will also cover the township’s legal fees accrued during negotiations.
While the details were mostly squared away, Lauer advised council to table the issue to resolve one outstanding issue.
“My only concern is, and it’s the reason this hasn’t come to council earlier, this pole is tall enough that it can accommodate two carriers. So AT&T isn’t the only carrier in town. We spent a lot of time making sure that the pole could physically accommodate that,” Lauer said.
Lauer said he had brought up the situation with Verizon representatives, but they were not confident there could be an agreement.
“Their reaction was, ‘We’ll never be on that pole because AT&T is going to make it impossible for us to be there,'” Lauer said. “I guess my question to you is, do you want to move ahead with this or do you want me to see whether or not we can find a way to make sure that both carriers can be on that pole?”
Council agreed that they should push for the cell tower to cover both carriers.
“I think you need to do that. Because I certainly don’t want Verizon then coming in, building another 90-foot tower somewhere else on township property,” said Councilman Frank Arcuri.
Also at Monday’s meeting, council recognized the Peters Township High School Dance Team for winning a national title this past February.
The team competed at the Universal Dance Association’s National Dance Team Championship in Orlando, Fla., and won in the Small Varsity Hip-Hop Division.
“It is basically the Super Bowl of high school dance,” said Dominique Schuster, the head coach, at the meeting. “It’s a big honor, and we do appreciate you all recognizing us.”