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<br />Steven Edwards, 501 - 50th Street W, Minneapolis, stated that he was at the meeting representing <br />T-:-Mobile. Mr. Edwards stated that, to clarify, the tower is 165 feet high and can hold up to four <br />different carriers. He stated that T-Mobile is trying to fill the gap in coverage because cell phone <br />usage has skyrocketed. He stated that in many cases, people are using cell phones as their main <br />line of communication and are moving away from having land line telephone service. He stated <br />that the tower will be engineered so there is a soft spot, so, if there were ever damage, the tower <br />would break at a certain level and not just topple over. He stated that he has never heard of a <br />monopole ever breaking. He gave the example of breaking a pop can and noted that it will just <br />bend in on itself and fall off. He stated that their first proposal for a tower location was further <br />east near the holding pond, but that area proved problematic because of access issues. He stated <br />that the current location proved to be a better fit because of the City's plans for the park and <br />possible future uses. <br /> <br />Randy Villa, 15125 Garnet Street NW, stated that the proposed tower location is directly behind <br />his house and will be an eye sore. He stated that the tower will be located in the park, which has <br />walking paths and wildlife, and he stated that he does not feel this is the place for a cell phone <br />tower. He stated that there will be utility trucks coming in which will be a disruption to park <br />goers. He stated that he strongly opposes the proposed placement ofthe tower. <br /> <br />Carolyn Villa, 15125 Gamet Street NW, stated that she also opposed the placement of the tower <br />and asked how many of the City Council members would like a cell phone tower in their back <br />yard. She stated that when she opens her back door, she will have a view of the tower instead of <br />nature areas like she currently has. She stated that she does not understand why the tower cannot <br />be moved over to the landfill area and away from the residential area. <br /> <br />Mr. Villa stated that on the coverage map shown earlier, there was a problem area to the <br />northwest and asked why a tower was not put in this area, which would probably also take care <br />of the coverage areas in the proposed area. <br /> <br />Community Development Director Trudgeon stated that T-Mobile already has a permit from the <br />City to locate on an existing tower in that area. <br /> <br />Mr. Fountain asked what the directional capabilities were of the tower. <br /> <br />Mr. Edwards stated that, typically, the towers have three antennae that are directionally at zero <br />degrees, 120 degrees and 140 degrees which gives them a full 360 degrees of coverage around <br />the tower. <br /> <br />Mr. Fountain asked what the range capacity the tower has for broadcasting signals. <br /> <br />Mr. Edwards stated that it is difficult to say because each tower is different, but in this area, he <br />estimates that it will be one mile to a mile and a half. <br /> <br />Mr. Fountain asked what the elevation is currently of the landfill. He stated that he believes it <br />was 164 feet when it was capped, but has settled. He stated that he feels the landfill site would <br />satisfy the technical requirements of the tower. <br /> <br />City Council / September 25, 2007 <br />Page 13 of 27 <br />