Board of Ed Considering Cell Phone Tower

The Kings Park Board of Education is considering the possibility of a cellular tower at the administration building located on Lawrence Road.

Suffolk Wireless Communications presented the board, at the December meeting, with an outline of the plan to construct a tower that would near completion late 2012 if the board were to approve the plan.

Bryan Felton, project manager for Suffolk Wireless, the company that would manage the project, said the tower would be 125 feet tall and would house up to six communication carriers.

The tower would take up about 2500 square feet and according to Felton AT&T, Verizon and Nextel among others have shown interest in leasing space. The high school had been considered as an option for the tower but Felton said that placing it on the administration property would provide the best coverage in an area many in the meeting called a dead zone.  

Board trustee Steve Weber questioned the height of the pole, which will exceed the tree line. Felton said the district has input on the appearance of the tower, but 125 feet is the best height for a pole housing six carriers.

Weber also asked if there were health risks involved. Felton said cell towers emit less radiation than common household items such as refrigerators and microwaves. The Federal Communications Commission has determined that exposure levels on the ground are typically thousands of times below safety limits, according to its website.

According to Felton the district could see a total of $3.4 million in revenue over the length of the 30-year contract. The district is currently looking at over a $1 million shortfall for the upcoming budget.

“This is obviously something we need to look at for the future,” said board president Bill Motherway, “since this is the first look we’ve had at it.”