Shentel is making a second attempt to erect a 100-foot monopole in Winchester; this time near a BMX track in Jim Barnett Park, reported The Winchester Star. The first attempt to construct a tower was in 2015, but the City Council rejected that request to avoid having a tower on school grounds and for health and aesthetic reasons.
Regarding the newest request by Shentel, City Council member Milt McInturff equated it to “prostituting” city land for a private corporation. Other council members believed the negotiated lease terms are too low. As proposed, Shentel is poised to pay the city $111,000 to secure a 20-year lease, plus annual rent of $7,000 per year. Up to two, non-Shentel carriers could lease space on the tower by paying the city a one-time fee of $20,000, and Shentel would give Winchester 30 percent of each carrier’s $27,650 annual sublease, which is $8,295 per year, reported the Star.
However, Lynn Koerner, a Shentel representative, said the tower is needed to meet the Winchester area’s growing demand for wireless phone and data services. According to Shentel, three towers serve a total of 30,629 local cell phone users, 88 percent of whom live in the city of Winchester. The towers support service by Sprint, Boost and Virgin Mobile. Shentel also leases space to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
Koerner said the newly proposed tower would “blend in real nicely” with the 80-foot light poles at the park’s baseball diamond, adjacent to the BMX track.
“I think this is a better location than what was previously asked,” Mayor David Smith said, although the council voted 8-1 to forward the lease issue to its June meeting.
May 29, 2018
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