lease of tower property broken
The status of a proposed 200-foot communications tower in Leelanau Township remains up in the air.
The county Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to discontinue its lease of property for the tower site after the Leelanau Township planners denied a special land use permit for the site, located on Kitchen Road.
The county-proposed tower was planned to address dead spots in 911 coverage on the tip of the peninsula. A 2021 broadband inventory found that Leelanau Township is the “most underserved” population in the county.
Richard Lewis, interim county administrator, presented several options for board consideration.
“The (Leelanau Township) Planning Commission has to formally adopt its ‘finding of fact’,” he explained. “Then we have 21 days to appeal the decision in Circuit Court.”
Since the tower project was first introduced, dozens of township residents have written the township both in support and against the project.
Those opposed cite environmental concerns and questions about whether the tower would be in character with the surrounding properties.
The Leelanau Township Fire Department has also supported the proposed tower project as it would given them “vital communications at Peterson Park, Christmas Cove and the west side of the township to include the Cathead Bay area, and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. Another consideration for the board is its contract with Midway Electronics to construct the tower for a not-to-exceed total of $405,500. A 50% down payment was included in the tower contract which was originally executed in August 2023.
District No. 4 commissioner Ty Wessell represents Leelanau and northern Suttons Bay Township.
“The township is the most underserved for cell coverage,” he said. “The last thing we need is to have a (constructed) tower on the ground.”
Midway has already purchased the tower and it is now stored at the manufacturer’s site.
Then, there’s the status of a July 26, 2023 agreement with Cherryland Electric Cooperative to provide space on the proposed tower and three other tower county sites on Pit Road in Leland Township; the county site at the government center and Davis Road in Leelanau Township.
In lieu of rent on its use of four towers, Cherryland agreed to contribute 40% of the cost of constructing the tower in Leelanau Township, an amount not to exceed $200,000.
And lastly, the board has to determine whether to continue working under an intergovernmental agreement with Leelanau Township.
“The project will not be constructed as contemplated…,” Lewis wrote in a memo to board members. “A letter should be sent to Leelanau Township voiding the agreement and information the township of the county’s desire to continue discussions for cellular communications improvements.”
“Do we cancel the agreement or continue,” Lewis said Tuesday night. “We’re no longer at the front for finding another location … Once they have a spot, we’ll be happy to speak with them.”
