Health hazards raised over cell phone tower
The Whitefish City Council expressed
unanimous opposition to allowing a new cell phone tower to be built
on city land near Whitefish Middle School that is currently used
for snow storage in winter.
Extending an existing antenna on city
land at 10th Street and Baker Avenue wouldn’t work for Verizon,
city manager Chuck Stearns said. Verizon had not officially
requested use of the snow-storage site, and Stearns said he
directed Verizon to talk to the neighbors first.
Several neighbors expressed concerns
about posing health hazards to children less than 400 feet away at
the school. When councilor Bill Kahle asked about the validity of
these health concerns, Stearns said abundant evidence can be found
online.
Jenson’s point that it was not in the
city’s best interest to “encumber” the site for years with a cell
phone tower was persuasive. In any event, Verizon’s tower will end
up being erected somewhere else — probably BNSF Railway land, he
said.
In other city council news:
• The city council was unanimous in its
criticism of a property owner on Whitefish Lake and their
contractor for violating the city’s lakeshore regulations this
fall. They approved three after-the-fact permits by a 6-0 vote but
agreed to work on tougher sanctions to prevent further
violations.
• A task force will be created at the
next city council meeting to further develop a new city cemetery
above the Whitefish River near the Rocksund Trail footbridge.
Mayor Mike Jenson said the county was
willing to donate an access road and that private money exists to
pay for the development, which could include setting aside land for
“naturalized” burials.
• The Whitefish Housing Authority has
moved into the former municipal court offices at City Hall and will
pay $500 per month rent to the city.
• The council unanimously approved a
second amended subdivision-improvement agreement for the Edgewood
Business Center, at Edgewood Drive and Second Street.
Bill Foley’s Fidelity National Timber
Resource Inc. posted more than $2 million to bond the project when
it received final plat approval in May 2007, but the project relies
on the city’s plans to extend a sewer main across the railroad
tracks and down Cow Creek, which has been delayed by lack of
funds.
• Resort tax collections for October
2010 topped $108,000, an 18 percent increase over October 2009. To
date, resort tax collections are 10.7 percent higher.
• The council unanimously approved the
purchase of a $71,900 front-end loader. When public works director
John Wilson requested $117,000 for a new front-end loader during
budget talks, the council came up with $75,000 and directed him to
look at used equipment.
Wilson was able to locate a new unit
for under $75,000 with a better warranty than a used unit. The new
loader will be smaller, but a public works foreman said that will
work out even better for what the city needs.
• Jenson expressed concerns about how
the city issues water bills to landlords and not tenants. He said
it can cause problems during transition from one renter to another
and that no other utilities bill landlords that way.
Councilor Chris Hyatt, another landlord
on the council, said he was “with Mike.” Councilor Phil Mitchell, a
third landlord on the council, explained how he handles water bills
for the 16 properties he owns and rents.
Stearns noted that city staff were
already working on ways to speed up the process. One idea is to put
liens on property where water bills have not been paid.
Councilor John Muhlfeld noted that he
had to pay the unpaid water bills at an older home he recently
purchased and remodeled.