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5 <br />o Water towers are accepted by the public as necessary structures; they <br />typically do not evoke the resident's outrage as is all too common for <br />metal towers in residential areas. <br />o It is far less costly for PCS companies to rent space on existing water <br />towers than to build their own metal towers and shelter buildings. <br />OTHER ISSUES <br />Because these PCS transmission/reception facilities have the potential for interference <br />to other radio and television users, it is crucial for municipalities contemplating the <br />leasing of tower sites or space to have the assistance of an experienced professional <br />communications engineer to insure that radio/television interference and other <br />technical problems do not plague City governments. <br />The other major advantage that a communications professional can provide is <br />knowledge of the value of antenna sites to the PCS providers. In this manner, the <br />municipality is confident that it is receiving a fair price for water tower space and not <br />leasing antenna space at too low a price. <br />The Cities of Lakeville, Burnsville, West St. Paul, White Bear Lake, Champlin and <br />St. Paul have retained professional assistance in the leasing of water tower space; <br />these Cities receive many thousands of dollars in "net" revenue each year from their <br />antenna site leasing programs while cost, interference and neighborhood problems are <br />kept to a minimum. <br />CONTRACTUAL CONSIDERATIONS <br />Other areas of concern associated with the implementation of PCS on Minnesota <br />municipalities is the legal agreement or contract between the PCS Company and the <br />City. <br />Because the value of antenna sites is appreciating rapidly as their need becomes more <br />critical, it is essential that the initial rental rates be commensurate. PCS companies <br />will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions of dollars on their PCS <br />base equipment at each site; therefore, it is reasonable to request a substantial rental <br />rate for municipal antenna sites or water tower site locations. Rental rates of several <br />