On Tuesday, the Manchester Community School (MCS) board in Indiana tabled approval of a proposed AT&T tower, reported the Wabash Plain Dealer. Discussion over the tower’s location and possible health risks solidified the decision to delay.
The planned tower would replace a current structure, with AT&T removing the existing tower and building a new, 50-foot taller tower at no cost to MCS.
Under the proposed contract, MCS would receive $850 rent per month, totaling $10,200 per year. The lease covers 90 years, split into five-year terms. In addition, rent would increase by 7.5 percent every five years, according to the Plain Dealer.
Teresa Gremaux, MCS superintendent, said she experienced towers being placed on previous schools she worked at and hadn’t heard of any negative health issues. “I know you don’t think it’s [very] much in the budget, but anything that we can have is good,” she said. “I’d love to see it happen. It may not be in that location, but if we can maybe work with them [AT&T] and see what we can do, I would really recommend that’s the direction that we go.”
Board member Dave Terflinger, who voted to table the motion, cited findings from the American Cancer Society. The Cancer Society, however, relies on three expert agencies for their findings: the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). All three agencies have not classified cell phone towers specifically as sources with cancer-causing potential.
August 20, 2019
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