Cell Tower Contract Almost Ready

Washington Township and Verizon have almost reached an agreement for a new cell phone tower to be built at the Municipal Complex, according to township attorney Kenneth Poller.

Poller said this week that Verizon was working on some final adjustments to the exact placing of equipment before the contract could be signed. He did not know exactly how soon the agreement would be signed.

The tower will be a 120-foot monopole with external antennas. It will be built on the north side of the Municipal Complex and have an 8-foot white vinyl fence surrounding it. Officials previously said the fence would be designed to match the building's Colonial style.

Once the contract is finalized, the proposal will advance to the township's planning board for review.

Officials had also considered sharing a generator with Verizon to replace the one the town has been renting since the old one broke, but that plan did not pan out, according to township Administrator Catherine Navarro-Steinel.

Residents had debated the location of the tower for months before officials agreed on the final spot late last year.

Proponents of the tower have said it will generate revenue and improve cell phone service in spotty areas. More phone service carriers may be added in the future.

One township resident, Ray Bernroth, has been especially interested in the tower and attended many council meetings this year to ask about the its progress. Officials previously promised Bernroth the tower would be built "in [his] lifetime."

"I told my doctor, 'You need to keep me alive. This tower is going up in my lifetime,'" Bernroth said Monday.

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