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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes – Wednesday, November 04, 2009 Page 5 Mr. Heiser spoke to consideration of other sites on campus, five (5) in all; with two (2) in the OVAL parking lot directly on County Road C, with one location considered in the southwest corner, and one location in the southeast corner; another site on the northwest corner of the Public Works garage along Woodhill Drive; and another behind the existing Public Works salt storage facility. Mr. Heiser noted that the OVAL parking locations would have necessitated elimination of parking spots (8) and restricting and/or impacting traffic flow within the lot. Mr. Heiser advised that the other location along Woodhill Drive, following subsequent review by the Fire Department, Public Works Department, City Manager, and IT staff, would have required realignment of a driveway, which would increase its slope and create problematic access to accommodate equipment. Mr. Heiser advised that the preferred location behind the salt storage lot was problematic since it was currently fully occupied by equipment and construction materials, with no other available storage location. Mr. Heiser noted that, if Fire Station No. 1 had been removed by now, that site could have been considered; however, he noted that this would also seriously restrict any future campus expansion for another facility. Mr. Heiser advised that the proposed location provided enough distance between the two towers to prevent interference between them; with the location chosen based on the parking lot location and pathway and driveway access, as well as the locations of the existing tower and other visible elevations (i.e., high voltage power lines). Mr. Heiser addressed the currently extended tower, and existing service providers and the over $100,000 in annual revenue realized by the City from that pole. Mr. Heiser advised that engineering analyses put the existing tower at full capacity, creating another issue for existing providers for the next generation of technology, and their pending need to address that even on the current tower. Mr. Heiser advised that the proposed new tower could help accommodate expansion needs of users on the existing tower. Mr. Heiser clarified that the contract would be negotiated before City Council action on this request; with the City Council ultimately having approval rights of the contract, with that consideration providing a full financial and benefit analysis. Mr. Heiser noted that the City currently realized revenue from the City Hall Campus tower, as well as towers at the Fairview water tower, and AltaVista, with current revenues of about $375,000 in total. Discussion between staff and Commissioners included other tower capacities and their 3-legged construction and height of 180’ versus the proposed 150’ monopole on the City Hall Campus; desire of this applicant and other providers to locate on existing sites, rather than to pursue less cost-effective construction and time-consuming land use approvals; needs in the area to complete cellular and wireless networks to provide improved coverage for users; additional proposal coming before the Commission at tonight’s meeting for consideration of a tower in Acorn Park; and screening and construction materials for the ground equipment. Applicant Representative, Tony Vavoulis, (740 Linwood Avenue, St. Paul) Mr. Vavoulis advised that the proposed monopole structure was simple; that negotiations were being initiated with City staff, with Clearwire, if this application was approved, building the tower and then transferring ownership to the City, with the City then having full rights to lease space to whomever the City wished, based on conditions protecting Clearwire’s transmission requirements with those of future users; with Clearwire recovering their initial investment through lower lease rates, but ultimately making lease payments similar to other providers. Mr. Vavoulis noted that these contract negotiations were separate from tonight’s land use request.