Title
T-Mobile Water Towers #6 & #10 Repairs - Cost Sharing
History
Space on all but one of the Village’s seven water towers is leased to cellular providers including T-Mobile, Sprint, and Clearwire. To provide mounting space for the cellular provider’s antennas a pod is added at the top of the tower. The cellular provider installs the pod and places their antennas around the perimeter. All previously existing municipal antennas, which provide communication and Data transmission for the Police Department, Public Works, Recreation Department and Orland Fire Protection District, have relocated to the top of the pod. Periodically the cellular providers replace and/or add equipment as technologies and usage changes. Similarly, municipal antennas are changed, added, removed or relocated to provide the most reliable communication and data transmission.
T-Mobile has equipment located on five water towers. While performing a routine review of their equipment in advance of an upgrade, unexpected signs of pod movement were observed at water towers #10 (15800 88th Avenue) and #6 (9701 131st Street). T-Mobile took the lead in determining a solution. Both Police Department and Public Works staff met with T-Mobile and their engineer to discuss the cause and planned repair. Based on a review of the current conditions it is believed that the movement is from wind loading due to additional antennas being placed on the pod. The solution, which has been reviewed by the Village’s engineer, Christopher B. Burke Engineering, involves the installation of additional spacers where the pod extends through the top of the tower.
T-Mobile solicited a cost from their vendor, Communication Builders, Inc. to implement the repair in conjunction with other unrelated work to be performed on the towers. The total cost of the repairs is $15,179.00. Because of the significant municipal antenna presence on top of the pod, it is staff’s recommendation to split the cost of the repair with T-Mobile ...
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