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Fire Commissioners poised for tower agreement with Elite

COURTESY PHOTO Rendering of cell tower Elite Towers proposes to erect at the Manhanset Firehouse.
COURTESY PHOTO
Rendering of cell tower Elite Towers proposes to erect at the Manhanset Firehouse.

A contract is expected to be signed in early September between Shelter Island Fire District commissioners and officials from Elite Towers for a new cell tower at the Manhanset Firehouse on Cobbetts Lane.Then the permitting process gets under way with the Town Board that already has a consultant in place ready to review the plan. The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal during that vetting process.

Elite will pay the fire district $150,000 upfront and  50 percent of revenue Elite will charge to  companies that use the tower.

Commission attorney Helen Rosenblum was to speak with Elite officials and put them in touch with Integrated Wireless that handles the district’s mobile communications to iron out a few technical issues.

Elite would install the district’s equipment on the tower and, as part of the agreement, not charge a monthly fee for rental of the space.

A new wrinkle entered the picture at the commission’s meeting Monday night with the commissioners seeking a guarantee that if its contract with Elite were to end, the tower would remain on the property for ongoing use by the district.

Neighbors have raised objections to the tower based on both safety and esthetics.  There have been suggestions there may be other sites more suited to a new tower or other means of improving fire department communications and cell phone service in the area, which is known to include areas where calls fail or are dropped.

 

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