KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Kelseyville Unified School District Board will hold a special meeting next week to discuss a proposal to install a cell phone tower on school grounds next to the district office.
The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 6, at the Kelseyville High School Student Center, 5480 Main St.
District Superintendent Dave McQueen said no action will be taken at the meeting, the main purpose of which is to welcome public input.
McQueen said Verizon and US Cellular approached the school district about two months ago to propose the placement of the tower at the campus.
Earlier this fall, the board received a preliminary presentation from the companies on the proposal. McQueen said at that point the companies wanted to gauge the district's interest in hearing more about the idea.
The board, as a result, decided it wanted more information from the companies as well as community comment, said McQueen.
“We're just at the stage of getting input,” said McQueen.
In addition to putting out public notices about the meeting, the district also has sent out letters to parents, McQueen said.
At the Dec. 6 meeting, McQueen said US Cellular and Verizon will offer additional data, including information to answer any concerns about health impacts, which McQueen acknowledged is a big issue when considering such a proposal.
McQueen said that, in his research, he's found that hundreds of school districts around the state have cell towers located on their grounds.
The district's legal counsel also has looked at the proposal, which McQueen said would have both companies locating their cell equipment on one tower near the district office, at the corner of Main Street and Konocti Road.
If the district moved forward with the plan, it would result in a lease agreement that McQueen estimated would bring in about $2,400 a month to the district – $1,200 from each company – for 20 years.
Annual rental income would be about $40,000, “which is pretty significant,” said McQueen.
If the community and district were to agree that the proposal was a good fit, it is anticipated that it could resolve a controversy that has arisen over Verizon's proposal to place a cell tower on a 17-acre parcel on Staheli Drive in Kelseyville.
Verizon said the site was the best one to locate a tower to address a coverage gap in the area.
The majority of neighbors, however, have argued that the tower would not be a fit in a mostly residential and agricultural area.
The Lake County Planning Commission agreed and denied the proposal for the Staheli Drive tower earlier this year, with Epic Wireless – acting on behalf of Verizon – appealing the decision.
The Board of Supervisors received public input on the appeal at meetings over the summer, as Lake County News has reported.
However, in September, when the board was set to take up the matter again, Board Chair Rob Brown said he was contacted by Kelseyville Unified about the possibility of placing a cell tower on its grounds.
At that point, with the agreement of Verizon, Brown placed the matter on hold to allow the district to further explore the idea.
He told Lake County News this week that the Board of Supervisors is continuing to hold off on discussing the matter further pending the school district's review. The board wants to see what the district will do before pursuing any action, he added.
Finding a site that will address all of the concerns – from neighbor complaints to topography – has been a challenge for Verizon.
McQueen noted that Kelseyville is unique in that there is no one spot for a tower that hits the whole area unless it's in the main part of town.
That is one reason why the school grounds might work, as McQueen believes from that location much of the town could be reached by the signal.
However, whatever the pluses or minuses, McQueen said the district wants to take its time in assessing everyone's thoughts and concerns.
“We're in no hurry,” he said, nor is the district at the decision-making stage.
If any action is taken, McQueen said it likely wouldn't happen until early in the new year, after the public and board have had a chance to fully discuss the idea.
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Kelseyville Unified to hold Dec. 6 meeting on cell tower proposal
- Elizabeth Larson
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