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Planning Commission Meeting <br />Minutes – Wednesday, November 04, 2009 <br />Page 6 <br />Mr. Vavoulis advised that Clearwire was currently looking at space on the <br />Fairview tower, with leases in their final form, as well as at AltaVista; with both <br />contracts being presented to the City Council in the near future for their <br />consideration. Mr. Vavoulis advised that, in addition to the other request on <br />tonight’s agenda (at Acorn Park), Clearwire was considering one other private <br />existing monopole in the City that they were hoping to co-locate on, with their <br />company considering four hundred (400) locations throughout the overall <br />metropolitan area to provide high power wireless Internet service network. <br />Discussion between Mr. Vavoulis and Commissioners included types of users on <br />each tower; City Code provisions preferring multi-user towers to avoid additional <br />towers; negotiations of future potential users on the tower would involve the City, <br />not Clearwire; estimated distance of one-and-a-half to two miles from the City <br />Hall Campus to Acorn Park; maximum signal radius distance as detailed in <br />Section 5.2 of the staff report; the overall grid used by Clearwire to determine <br />antennae locations for best coverage; lower power of Internet networks than that <br />of cellular requiring a tighter grid; and the original request of Clearwire for a 120’ <br />tower at Acorn Park. <br />Mr. Vavoulis advised that Clearwire only needed a maximum height of 120’; but <br />in attempting to work with the City, based on their Code for multiple users; and <br />their business model in seeking revenue potential, the City was requesting the <br />higher tower (150’) to provide a viable product in the market to host multiple <br />users. <br />Commissioner Wozniak sought clarification from Mr. Heiser on technological <br />benefits to the City’s Public Works crews in obtaining wireless Internet service at <br />either of the proposed towers or others within the City. <br />Mr. Heiser advised that the City’s Water Department had been exploring for <br />years the possibility of AMR for wireless reading of water meters, a task still <br />performed manually by personnel. Mr. Heiser noted that there were a number of <br />products developed over the last few years, allowing for more efficient monitoring <br />of various equipment (e.g., lift stations) within the City; with the City’s IT <br />Department more involved in supervisory management of the City’s SCADA <br />system for the monitoring. Mr. Heiser further noted that, in addition to the City <br />itself, Roseville supported twenty (20) other cities on their IT network, and <br />involved with each of those cities in monitoring their equipment as well, requiring <br />central locations throughout the community to communicate with home readers. <br />Mr. Heiser advised that the City of Roseville’s northwest quadrant was still a <br />challenge, and would probably require a cooperative agreement with the City of <br />St. Anthony or the City of New Brighton to accommodate wireless reading of <br />those meters, since the Fairview water tower didn’t have the required “ signal <br />reach”. Mr. Heiser noted that, among those twenty (20) cities dependent on the <br />City of Roseville’s IT Department, that encompassed over sixty-five (65) <br />buildings, as far away as Forest Lake and Lake Elmo, and included fiver <br />construction to the Roseville Area School District as part of the overall City of <br />Roseville network. Mr. Heiser noted that fiber optic access was limited by <br />funding, and made wireless communication a much more economic and <br />available option. <br />Mr. Heiser advised that, while the City is attempting to take advantage of <br />business opportunities for additional revenue sources and keeping taxes as <br />reasonable as possible, it was also attempting to keep the need for 150’ towers <br />to a minimum. <br />Chair Doherty requested that Mr. Heiser remain for the next Public Hearing on <br />Acorn Park as well. <br />Public Comment <br /> <br />