(3/21) Two years ago, the Town Council voted to lease space to Verizon on the Town’s "Crum" water tower in order to install 5-G transmitters to enhance coverage in the Walkersville and Woodsboro areas. This was done to alleviate "dead zones" and benefit residents by increasing internet speeds by almost ten fold.
The deal at the time was for Verizon to pay the Town $2,000 a month for a five-year lease, with five, five-year extensions, for a total maximum lease of 30 years. In addition, Verizon would pay a 3% yearly increase on the monthly rate which AT&T and T-Mobile, who are also on the tower, already agreed to do.
At the March council meeting, representatives of Verizon briefed the Council on plans to upgrade their equipment and move the equipment to the top of the tower instead of its current location on the railing. According to Town Manager Sean Williams, the upgrade has been "a long time coming" and he pointed out the need for the tower to undergo structural improvements anyway. "Verizon is looking to move to the top of the tower where Sprint’s equipment was located [Sprint’s equipment was removed after its merger with T-Mobil]," said Williams. "That will alleviate quite a bit of undue stress on the handrail."
Williams pointed out that the last time the tower was checked for structural integrity was roughly two years ago and the tower passed the testing. Commissioner Russ Winch questioned the passing grade for the tower saying previous analysis found the tower to have stresses at 100%. He wanted to make sure that if anything went wrong, they would be assured of who was responsible.
According to William’s, all three providers are responsible for their equipment as well as repairs to the water tower deemed necessary because of damage from their equipment. One example is the replacement of the sway bars by AT&T at their expense in August of 2023.
On the other end of the spectrum, a brand-new water tower would cost the Town an estimated three to five million, as estimated by the Director of Public Works, Joseph Birch. He pointed out, "the handrail is just a handrail, not an antenna stand. Them moving up top benefits the Town."
The Council agreed with Town staff's recommendation and approved the request to move Verizon's equipment to the top of Crum Tower.
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