Dale Aukee's Input - November 2, 2006 - Comments Regarding T-Mobile proposed communication pole and antenna at Groveland Park

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Hello Commissioners and Council members, Below are some facts and points of negotiation that can and should be addressed if the City is to move forward on the tower. I would like to re-iterate my position that due to our limited park space I don't believe this is a reasonable project for the city to undertake. However, * The City should require a monopole, which by itself, won't take up much space. Although the equipment shelter for T-Mobile may only take an area 10' x 12', if other carriers want to co-locate on the pole in the future, additional ground space would be required for them to either place their own shelter or, add on to the T-Mobile shelter so it looks like one building. Many of the carriers use a pre-fab shelter approximately 12' x 24' but, they are used to altering them or constructing buildings that match existing architecture. While it is cheaper and more convenient to have the shelter placed adjacent to the monopole, it can be located farther away if the ground is clear to bury the cables between the tower and the shelter. * Carriers generally pay around $450 - $800/month for what they call raw-land sites (built by them from the ground up) for the first year of the contract. The rent then increases by a certain percentage each year thereafter. 3% - 4% is usually accepted without question. The city can also require the carrier to share any rent from additional carriers that want to co-locate on the tower. Or, the city can require the carrier to convey ownership of the tower to the City, in which case, the City often abates the rent for a number of years (As an example the City of Lakeville abated the rent for 7 years. The carrier will then begin paying rent taking into account the 3% escalation over the course of those 7 years). * Regarding the term of the lease, T-Mobile essentially wants a 30 year lease (5 year initial period + 5 more 5-year periods). This is longer than most standard leases they are usually 20 - 25 years. The City should shorten this to 15 or 20 years, which will force T-Mobile to re-negotiate - and allow the City to re-evaluate the rent & terms to see if they are still reasonable in 15 or 20 years. Another option might be to offer T-mobile an initial term of 10 years and then one or two additional 5-year periods. * Pole height may also vary. T-mobile may be asking for there preferred height or as much height they believe they can get. The 100 foot pole may not be required for their purposes and a shorter pole may be feasible for T-mobile's purposes however this may limit co-location. * A requirement of the lease should state that if T-Mobile abandons the site, ownership of both the building and pole is transferred to the City. If not previously addressed in the agreement. * With respect to additional carriers or co-locating, there are three ways the City may want to consider leasing: 1) Lease to T-Mobile only that space they need for their 10' x 12' shelter and then lease additional ground space to other carriers if, and when, they go on the tower. Other, co-locating carriers will have to pay T-Mobile approximately $1,000/month just for use of the monopole so, they will balk at paying more than around $500/month for ground space. You can still require T-Mobile to pay a portion of the rent in addition to whatever ground rent you get from co-locators; 2) Lease more space to T-Mobile than they currently require and allow them to sublease some of that space to other carriers. Then, take a percentage (50% seems to be common) of the rent from T-Mobile. Currently, rents for co-location are around $1,200 - $2,100/month. NOTE: Carriers usually don't agree to split co-location rent but, they will often do it with local governments. Additionally, they build monopoles on city property knowing that they may never be able to recoup any of their costs through co-location fees; or, 3) Allow T-Mobile to build the tower, convey it to the City and abate their rent for an agreed upon number of years. Then, charge any additional carriers rent for tower and ground space. Any combinations of the above may be an option. Some things carriers won't negotiate on are: A) Access to the site - they usually need 24 hr/7 days a week access in the event the site goes down. This will be a large burden if future park uses change. B) Sharing a percentage of their revenue - other than co-location rent. This becomes difficult calculation. Again if the City is to move forward these are possibilities to get the City the best deal. Dale Aukee Field Representative Great River Energy Office 763-241-2229 Cell 612-840-4019 Fax 763-241-6003 -----Original Message----- From: Greg Lee [mailto:greg.lee@ci.mounds-view.mn.us] Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 8:18 AM To: Cindy Palm; Aukee, Dale GRE/ER; Dan Weldon; Dave Long (E-mail); Gerald Arel (E-mail); Jerome Kunz (E-mail); John Kroeger (E-mail); John Kroeger -work; Marta McIntyre; Shari Kunza; Steve Dazenski Cc: Kari Brown Subject: T-Mobile proposed communication pole and antenna at Groveland Park - draft report Hi Commissioners and Kari, Attached is the draft report pertaining to the proposed communication pole and antenna at Groveland Park. This item has been placed on the November 6th Work Session Agenda. At this meeting a representative of T-Mobile will be available to present the proposal and answer any questions the City Council may have. Is there any additional information or points that you wish to be included in this report? Please let me know as soon as possible. Greg <<T-Mobile Pole and Antenna Installation Proposal at Groveland Park 11-6-2006.doc>>