FAYETTEVILLE -- The School Board is considering allowing at least cellphone towers at three schools and a football field that could bring in at least $48,000 a year.
Smith Communications brought a proposal to the School Board on Thursday, seeking approval of the four towers plus a broader leasing agreement for a partnership over the next 10 years. The School Board will vote on the agreement at its December meeting in keeping with its long-standing policy to receive new business one month and consider it for a vote the following month.
At A Glance
Library Recognition
Fayetteville Public Library received a Superintendent’s Honor Roll award during the School Board meeting Thursday. The award recognized the partnership between the library and district. David Johnson, executive director, and Lolly Greenwood, who heads children’s services and outreach, were on hand to receive the award.
The School Board also honored:
• Terra Ogle, a first-grade teacher at Washington Elementary School, as the Above and Beyond winner for October.
• Brooke and Barrett Baledge, seniors at Fayetteville High School, for being named in the College Board National Hispanic Recognition Program for their personal and academic achievements.
• Michelle Hayward, principal at McNair Middle School, for her award as a 2014 National Distinguished Principal from the National Association of Elementary School Principals.
Source: Staff Report
The next meeting will be Dec. 18.
The request from Smith seeks approval for 150-foot towers at Fayetteville High School's Harmon football complex as well as at McNair and Holt Middle Schools and the tennis courts adjacent to Asbell Elementary School. The towers look like light poles with the cellphone equipment higher on the pole and wiring in the pole, said Dave Reynolds, representing Smith Communications.
Each tower would be fenced, landscaped and irrigated by Smith, Reynolds said.
A tower, similar to the ones on School District property, is situated next to the water tower on the Veterans Administration Hospital property, he said.
In response to a question about liability, Chris Lawson, the district's attorney, said, "We enjoy statutory immunity."
Kathy Hanlon, chief financial officer for the district, said the agreement covers a monthly rental $1,000 per pole and includes the first telephone carrier. Additional carriers contracted to put its service on the same pole will be charged $300 per carrier. Each pole can accommodate four carriers, with a maximum rental $1,900 per pole, she said.
Hanlon said she surveyed districts in several states and found monthly rental rates vary from $300 to $750 a month.
The board also recognized Emily Field, Hayden Morris and Jasper Mize, students at Fayetteville High School, who produced a documentary as a class project about the mobility program offered at the Washington Regional Center for Exercise. The film won the best documentary award at the Spring Creek Film Festival last month.
After watching the documentary during the meeting, board member Steve Percival, who's also the human resources director at Washington Regional Medical Center, praised the students' work for "capturing the essence of the program and the emotions of the participants they interviewed."
NW News on 11/21/2014