Strasburg OKs potential water tower halo project
Below is an article that was written in the Northern Virginia Daily on August 12th, 2020.
STRASBURG — Concrete plans aren’t finished but Strasburg Town Council members decided on Tuesday night they are set to approve any feasible, appropriate plans Verizon submits for its bid to add a new halo to the town’s water tower.
The water tower not only provides an iconic skyline and water for residents but also hosts several antennas for cell service providers. Verizon used to have antennas on the tower but quit its partnership with the town years ago. Recently, the internet and cellphone service provider giant returned and asked the town if it would be willing to host its receivers again if Verizon foots the bill for engineering and construction.
Council members discussed the opportunity at a work session last month, walking away with positive feelings about the project pending some more investigation.
On their own time, and their personal Facebook pages, multiple council members created surveys to ask residents how they felt about adding new construction to the tower. Council members said there may be some concern that improved cellphone reception would be outweighed by the potential marring of an iconic view.
Those fears were assuaged as council members reported that support for the construction was overwhelmingly positive in their limited survey samples.
On Tuesday, Councilwoman Christie Monahan made a motion for the council to approve the project, given the proposal from Verizon is “favorable” — safety was the number one concern for Vice Mayor Ken Cherrix, though Verizon would not move forward with funding a project that was not deemed viable or safe.
As part of the motion, Monahan said the town would be required to use any funds it receives from Verizon, and any other future providers, using the halo to be directed into the town’s water and sewer fund. The enterprise funds, which are supposed to pay for themselves but have failed to do so for years, are typically not funded by anything other than water and sewer fees but council members agreed that if the tower is used to raise additional revenue, the town should keep that money in the water and sewer fund rather than diverting it into the general fund.
Councilwoman Emily Reynolds said she would support the town deviating from its standard practice of allocating funds in this instance given the town’s unique struggles with water and sewer funding.
“Typically, I prefer or lean toward the philosophy or avenue of only funding the water and sewer funds with rates,” Reynolds said. “However, given the lengthy discussions we’ve had about our specific situation here in Strasburg, why our rates are so much higher, I feel a lot more comfortable adding any revenue from the cell tower to the water fund to subsidize our specific situation.”
Cherrix said he likes the idea of the halo but said he wasn’t comfortable approving a plan that he hadn’t seen. Council members wouldn’t rubber-stamp a new housing development or road construction project without seeing plans first, he said, and they shouldn’t change their ways of operating for this project either.
“I’m not against it,” he said, “I just don’t want to say ‘go ahead and build it today.’ I’d still like to see all that engineering and studies brought in front of us before we approve anything being built. We do it with townhouses, we do it with neighborhoods, we do it with buildings, roads — this tower is no different.”
Councilman John Massoud said he disagreed with Cherrix, that while a new housing development or road project would consume vacant space, the water tower project is building on top of a current site and the largest concern is the view — which, he said, council members already determined is a minor concern for most residents.
Council members approved the motion with a 7-1 vote. Cherrix was the lone dissenter, saying he supported the project but didn’t want to “put the cart before the horse” in approving an installation before seeing a plan.
Council members Cherrix, Massoud, Monahan, Reynolds, Dane Hooser, Taralyn Nicholson, Doreen Ricard and Paul Weaver were all present for Tuesday’s meeting.
– Contact Max Thornberry at mthornberry@nvdaily.com
