Township Approves Cell Tower Near Gazebo

The Committee unanimously approved Thursday a contract for the construction and lease of a cell phone tower on municipal property.

The tower will have a base of 40-feet x 40-feet, and will be about 120-feet tall, according to Township Mayor Nicole Hagner and Township Attorney Carl Woodward.

The lease will bring in "a $38,550 base lease, plus $1,600 a month," Woodward said. "It will bring in well over $55,000."

AT&T will rent the tower during the construction of PSE&G's North Central Reliability Project, which will take about two to four years to complete. T-Mobile will also receive service from the tower.

The tower will ensure uninterrupted cell phone and 911 service to township residents. It will be constructed near the gazebo outside the .

The contract has a two-year lease and two, one-year extensions.

The committee also sent out invitations to bid for a second tower, slated for installation at the parking lot near . Returns are due May 17. T-Mobile is expected to make a bid, according to Woodward.

Hagner did not know for certain what size the tower at Colony Pool will be, but she said it will be located in the paved parking lot and take up approximately three spaces. "It will not interfere with the pool at all," she said.

The Planning Board has to do an advisory review of the lease, and the public will have the opportunity to comment.