Mahoning Twp. discusses offer to install cell tower

A business offer from a cellular tower company could yield more lease revenue for Mahoning Township, if the price of the lease is right.

The township recently received a letter from King of Prussia-based wireless network services company Velocitel, which expressed interest in leasing township property for the installation of a new cellular tower.

Velocitel offered a rate of $1,000 per month to the township.

The township has a similar agreement with American Tower for the lease of the land occupied by the cellular tower found near the township building. However, Mahoning receives approximately $2,400 per month from that contract, Supervisor Bruce Steigerwalt said.

Supervisor Myron Blahy questioned whether the township would receive an initial compensation in addition to the monthly lease, though the letter did not mention any other payment beside the listed monthly rate.

“If it was a nice, substantial amount, and it would help pay for the building, then yeah,” Blahy said, referencing the construction of a new township building, later adding that Velocitel’s initial offer may not be worthwhile.

Chairman Franklin Ruch said that the matter at hand was whether or not the township would even entertain the idea of permitting the construction in the first place.

“The first thing we’ve got to decide is, do we want a tower? And then we can go into finding out the specifics,” Ruch said.

Supervisors Robert Slaw and Steigerwalt indicated that the placement of the tower would be an important detail in the decision. Slaw said that he would prefer it to be located close to American Tower’s structure, while Steigerwalt was more concerned about restricting construction in a nearby field which the township may make use of in the future.

The supervisors requested that solicitor Thomas Nanovic review the agreement with American Tower to ensure that there are no restrictions forbidding the installation of another tower in proximity to their equipment.

Secretary-Treasurer Natalie Haggerty was asked to contact Velocitel and request that a representative from their company attend a township meeting in the near future to field questions and discuss the matter further.