With one eye on improved cellular service in the village, and another on potential revenue, Maybrook Village officials are entertaining a proposal for a new cellular tower in downtown Maybrook.
Victoria Brennan, President of Shore 2 Shore Wireless of Massapequa, appeared remotely at last week’s Maybrook Village Board meeting to discuss a proposal to build a 125-foot communications tower on the village Department of Works property at 201 Charles Street.
Brennan said the DPW property would be a good fit as it has a natural buffer with railroad tracks to the east. The area, she noted, is industrial. The tower would rise in the southeast corner of the property near the railroad tracks
“You would control the location of the tower and ultimately obtain revenue from the tower,” Brennan told village trustees.
The proposal is to lease 2,500 square feet of space at the DPW property for 30 years. The company would bear the cost of the constructing the tower that could accommodate up to six wireless carriers. The village, in turn, would collect 50 percent of the cost of the revenue paid by those carriers to access the tower. There would be no out-of-pocket expenses for the village.
Brennan said the company does not have any carriers lined up yet, and would not seek planning or zoning board approval until they did have a commitment from wireless carriers. At the moment, she said, there are only four wireless carriers in the market, but the tower would allow for expansion, should other providers enter the market.
“I want to build it big enough so that if somebody new comes in, we’d have ample space for it,” Brennan explained.
“What would happen,” asked Deputy Mayor Robert Pritchard, “if nobody signed on?”
Brennan reiterated that the company would make no applications without a commitment from wireless carriers. Furthermore, she added, the village board could set a time limit after which the agreement would be null and void if they were unable to secure commitments from any carriers.
With that, the village board gave its blessing to the project.