Cook County commissioners approved a special use permit for a new communication tower in the Gunflint Magnetic area earlier this month, however there were questions regarding the cost of placing the tower on U.S. Forest Service land. How much would it cost and who would pay the fees?
Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers shared an email from U.S. Forest Service Gunflint District Ranger Dennis Neitzke who said that he had to contact his Washington Office specialists who regularly deal with commercial uses including cellular services. The answer was complicated, with several different scenarios for charges.
AT&T is funding construction of the new tower. AT&T will receive rent abatement for 25 years in exchange for putting up the tower, which Cook County will actually own. However, the tower, like Cook County’s existing emergency communication tower, is on Forest Service land.
Neitzke said because the current towers at the site belong to Cook County and the antennae are publicly owned and are for the purpose of public safety, the Forest Service waived its fees in the past. However, Neitzke told the board, now that there will be commercial use with the cellular phone service, the fees could no longer be waived.
And, wrote Neitzke, the fees were higher than he expected. Neitzke said if there is more than one service, the greater amount is charged in full and the second service is charged at 25% of the full fee. So, he explained, the fee for cell service this year would be $3,679.42. AT&T also provides wireless Internet service, which would be charged $2,207.64. However, since it is a second service, it would be discounted to $551.91. The total fee to be paid to the Forest Service would be $4,231.33.
Neitzke also informed the board that there would be additional fees if there were a separate building at the tower site, another fee of $4,231.33. If the building was only used by AT&T, the company would be billed directly and that would not affect the county.
Additionally, cautioned Neitzke, that fee is the rate for 2012. The fees would likely increase in subsequent years as fees are “indexed.”
All of these fees could be eliminated if the county is successful in its pursuit of a land exchange with the Forest Service. The county is hoping to exchange land it owns but cannot use within the boundaries of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for other Forest Service land that it could use. The land the tower sits on is a top priority for this proposed land exchange.
Mark Hemstreet, of Insite, Inc., which is coordinating installation of the tower for AT&T, was at the meeting. He said AT&T does not want to hold up the agreement between the Forest Service and Cook County. He said AT&T understands that a land exchange is being worked on. He said, “AT&T is certainly willing to pay this fee for a few years, however if it goes on past three years, we would want to discuss that.”
Board members wondered what the timeline for the land exchange was and called Cook County Land Commissioner Mary Black in to the meeting to see if she had an answer. Black is spearheading the land exchange process for the county. When asked for a timeframe, Black said, “If everything goes well—if things are sent to Milwaukee and all goes smoothly, our target is in the third quarter of 2013—but there is a publication period, a comment period, an appeals period, so you never know.”
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja said it’s one of the county and Forest Service’s highest priorities, but said, “It’s anyone’s guess.”
Commissioner Bruce Martinson suggested amending the special use permit to state that AT&T would pay the fee of $4,231.33 for three full years. He said, “If for some reason there is a delay or if the land transfer does not go through, the county agrees to split the fee 50/50.”
Hemstreet said AT&T could handle that. “AT&T just doesn’t want to have this open-ended fee,” he said.
The tower will be a “selfsupporting” tower, 190 feet tall including equipment installed on the top, according to Sheriff Mark Falk. Hemstreet said since the tower belongs to Cook County, other providers could be on it, “as long as AT&T has their spot.”
In other business:
. Commissioner Sobanja asked that another committee be added to the list of boards and commissions for which commissioners receive per diem, the Active Living Steering Committee. He said its healthy living/safe walking routes mission ties in well with other committees on which he serves. Commissioner Martinson moved to add the committee to the list temporarily, authorizing Sobanja to attend and receive a per diem for each meeting.
. Commissioners followed Land Commissioner Black’s recommendation to schedule appointments for citizens who wish to speak at the County Board of Equalization. Black explained that last year a citizen felt that they did not have enough time to speak because another citizen had taken up too much time. She said she polled other counties and most do assign appointment times. She said it would be beneficial to know how many people were coming. She said it would not preclude someone from speaking if they did not have an appointment, but they would have to wait until everyone who had made an appointment had their opportunity. The board agreed to follow the trend of other counties and establish appointments at 20-minute intervals, with 10 minutes for the taxpayer to speak and 10 minutes for the board to discuss the concern. The Board of Equalization meeting was scheduled for Jun. 12, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
. Commissioners accepted the recommendation of County Highway Engineer David Betts to waive the special event permit for use of Highway Department right-of-way for the Mush for a Cure Fun Run on March 10, 2012. Betts said waivers have been granted for this charitable event in the past and insurance and other event information had been received.
. The commissioners received a letter of thanks from the North Shore Music Association for a grant to that organization, which funded the visit of the Parker Quartet. Music Association Director Kate Fitzgerald said schoolchildren and parents alike enjoyed workshops with the quartet.
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