It appears that most people today have a cell phone. Great-grandparents have them…children have them. But many communites are seeing areas of bad cell service due to the lack of cell towers. In Roselle, T-Mobile recently approached the Roselle Park District about construction of a cell tower in one of their parks - near a middle school and bustling residential neighborhood.
Tom Kruse, executive director for the district, said that a cell tower in their park “would be a substantial revenue producer for the park district, which would help us keep taxes down.” However parents in the community are trying to fight the issue claiming that they don’t want their kids to be “guinea pigs to see what will happen 10 years down the line.” However, the FCC has declared that cell towers pose no threat to people and the verdict is still out on whether property values will be impacted with their presence.
The potential revenue that can be generated from cell tower contracts could be very lucrative for park districts but does that outweigh the public outcry? So what are taxing bodies supposed to do in this situation?
Share your thoughts on the subject.
I sure am tired of cell towers polluting the visual environment. Shouldn’t towers be shared by numerous companies. Park District’s can make some good cash but maybe Park District should take a stance and say enough is enough.
I think it is a great way for park distiricts to bring in a little extra revenue. The cell towers are going to go somewhere so why not benefit as a park district.
Everyone is driving SUV’s so why shouldn’t I.
We allowed our first cell tower last year. They replaced a 90′ light pole on one of our athletic fields with a 115′ tower that has the lights attached where they were before. The base of the pole is now fenced in with solid board fence surrounded by arborvitae. Aesthetically, it looks fine. In addition, co-location (use by mulitiple carriers) on the tower is required by the city. We have had no negative feedback about it and are realizing $24,000 a year in revenue.