Verizon Wireless received approval from the city of Casper’s planning and zoning commission last September to build a tower, reported the Casper Star Tribune, but Councilman Jesse Morgan has concerns regarding the negotiations. Morgan and City Attorney Wallace Trembath are at odds between negotiating the best contract for Casper and making it easy for Verizon to do business in the city.
Trembath has been negotiating terms with Verizon and Morgan fears that the pace is too slow and Trembath’s requirements are too high. Trembath is most focused on ensuring that Casper receives a fair lease price from Verizon. “I would really prefer Council did not get involved with the terms and conditions of the lease,” Trembath told the Star Tribune. “If you politicize it and make them get the sense they can get a better deal by coming through Council, we’re going to get a worse deal.”
There is little information available to the public regarding the contract negotiations or pricing. According to Steel in the Air, a tower leasing information website, monthly lease rates for towers averaged $1,300 in 2016. The source also cited that competition between wireless carriers has caused a “general effort by the wireless service providers to lower their ongoing lease related costs.”
Conversely, Morgan is concerned that too much negotiation could provide an unfriendly environment for telecom companies. “If people are calling Verizon and saying, ‘Hey I don’t have cell coverage here,’ and then Verizon responds that the city of Casper isn’t easy to deal with… then what do we do?” he asked.
Trembath is sticking to his guns, saying that Verizon already backed down on an issue that was “incompatible with their business model.” According to Trembath, “If they need to change their business model, they need to change it. And they can — but they don’t if they politicize it.”
According to a Verizon representative, this proposal came after trying unsuccessfully to lease space from Casper College and a nearby church. “Although Verizon Wireless has several sites in and around the City of Casper, there is a need for a new facility in the densely populated area surrounding the proposed site,” wrote site acquisition specialist Irene Cooke.
June 23, 2017
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