Rooftop cell tower proposal nixed

A cellphone tower won’t be installed on the roof of Flathead High School following a school board decision Tuesday.

The board voted 7-1 against moving forward with Verizon’s request to install, maintain and operate “communications equipment” on the school. The vote followed a one-hour public forum where dozens of people spoke out against the proposal through statements and letters with input provided by Taylor Thorness, a radio frequency engineer for Verizon.

A preliminary building and rooftop lease agreement would have begun with a five-year term and automatically extended for four additional five-year terms if not terminated by Verizon. Verizon would have paid the school district $1,700 in monthly rent ­— a total of $20,400 annually.

Thorness said Verizon began looking for cell tower sites to improve coverage in Kalispell about four years ago.

“We looked at trying to go on the county jail, the office building across the street, the church and then we had a historical district downtown that prevented us from most of the areas in the downtown. So we came over here to the high school, which is a high data use area. Which is why we’re here,” Thorness said.

He said the addition of a cell tower at Flathead “ensures traffic will be evenly distributed.”

“It offloads a site that primarily serves downtown. The site that primarily serves downtown also serves here at the high school,” he said, adding, “Without this site, service in the area of Flathead will continue to degrade.”

The majority of public comments stemmed from concerns about long-term health impacts of exposure to radio frequency radiation emitted by cell towers. Some members of the public likened the unknown health impacts to other products initially deemed safe, such as asbestos and cigarettes. Petitions, begun in April, were also submitted for the record by resident Kay Walker who said they had garnered 1,038 signatures rejecting the proposal.

“I think we want to be cautious making a 25-year commitment when the studies are not absolutely conclusive and there may be some concerns,” said Daniel Munzing a family physician in Whitefish.

Thorness broached the topic of health and safety.

“We comply with all FCC rules, which are gathered by information from the EPA the FDA, IEE, OSHA ... We’re current on all the studies,” he said.

He then showed a bar graph of radio frequency emission levels of cell towers and items such as a CB radios and baby monitors to microwave ovens and Wi-Fi routers.

Despite a public commenting period being extended to June 8, trustee Anna Marie Bailey made the motion not to move forward with Verizon’s request, which was seconded by trustee Frank Miller.

During deliberations, opinions differed on the quality of studies presented by members of the public, from being described as “junk” by one trustee to “credible,” by another.

Trustee Jack Fallon, who voted against the motion, was concerned that emotions were overriding objectivity.

“What I question [is] whether we create a lot of false fears, or are we misdirected in our fears,” Fallon said.

Earlier during the forum, Kalispell Middle School teacher Lynne Rider said she looks at a lot of research having a doctorate in educational research.

“There’s positive correlations. There’s negative correlations. There’s non-statistical data. So, I just want to make sure when we’re looking at research we’re not looking for something we want to find rather than really digging in and finding what’s out there because you can go online and find a lot of research that is garbage. We can all publish something,” Rider said.

Trustee Mary Tepas spoke about erring on the side of caution during deliberations.

“When this was brought to us a month ago I was kind of excited about the whole idea of a new revenue stream, and I went and did my digging. I went and talked to experts in the field telecommunications industry, and there really isn’t any definitive research on either side, but — but I could not make a decision to put kids in harm’s way when I don’t know the answers,” Tepas said.

School board chairman Lance Isaak said he hoped that residents will show as much passion in school elections as they did on the topic of the cell tower.

“Because that’s the issue,” Isaak said. “How do we bring money into the schools?”

Kalispell Public Schools has undergone district-wide budget cuts. While a $1 million elementary district general fund levy passed earlier this month, historically the high school district hasn’t been as successful in passing levies.

However, Miller, who pointed out that he doesn’t own a cellphone, said while he has “no idea” if the technology is good or bad, he said the hours of time spent on the topic in exchange for $20,400 a year was “not worth it.”

“Let’s move on,” Miller said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.