Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Bellevue leaders warm up to cell tower plan

Structure could put $15,000 in city coffers each year


By TONY EVANS

The city of Bellevue may soon have expanded cell-phone coverage up Muldoon and Slaughterhouse canyons if a 100-foot-tall cellular communications tower is installed on city land. The tower would also provide a source of revenue for the city through rents paid by cell-phone carriers that use the pole.

City Council members were one vote shy of a quorum on Thursday night to vote on allowing construction of the tower, but they listened with enthusiasm as Jennifer Campbell of Ketchum-based Idaho Tower Co. presented details on its capabilities. The tower would likely be erected on city-owned land next to U.S Bank in Bellevue.

"Line-of-sight is key in getting coverage up these canyons," Campbell said. "This is why it needs to be 100 feet tall."

The tower would carry as many as four cell phone transmitters as well as two-way radio transmitters for emergency vehicle communications, and eventual wireless Internet access.

Under state-provided fee schedules, four cellular providers using the tower would bring in about $15,000 per year to the city of Bellevue, which equates to about 6 percent of the annual property tax revenues for the city.

Campbell offered to provide computer simulation photographs of the proposed "monopole" tower if the City Council decides to move forward. Digital photographs of similar towers were presented at Thursday's meeting.

"This is a pole," Campbell said. "There are no guide wires and no lattice-work."

Maps of future cell-phone signal strengths will also be provided for city officials to review before voting on the project.

"I think this is a great idea," said Bellevue Mayor Jon Anderson. "We need to improve our cell-phone service, and if we can make a little money on the deal that's good, too."




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