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St. Pete Signals Interest In Putting Up Cellular Tower

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By CARLOS MONCADA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 21, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - City leaders are considering getting into the cellular tower business.

The city council Thursday discussed the idea of St. Petersburg building its own communications towers on city-owned property and leasing the space to wireless carriers.

The endeavor could create a new revenue stream for the city - potentially as much as $4.2 million - and decrease the number of dropped calls in areas where signals are weak, said Councilman Bill Foster, who pitched the proposal.

'I think it's a good investment for us to at least look at and not summarily dismiss,' Foster said. 'I'm not talking about building 10 out of the box. I'd like to see how one goes.'

Council members decided to discuss the idea again at a meeting in November. Until then, the administration will attempt to gauge carrier interest and refine cost estimates.

'I think it's a good idea and can be a potential moneymaker for the city,' council member Rene Flowers said.

Foster said a cell phone tower would cost about $300,000 to build, but that it would raise $4.2 million for the city over the structure's roughly 30-year life span. He said the city could recover its costs after the first two years. Industry representatives, though, estimated it could take five to 10 years for the city to recoup its investment.

Foster proposed putting the 150- to 200-foot towers on properties such as a water treatment plant or a golf course maintenance yard. Such places would be more acceptable to the public than in neighborhoods, which tend to reject the gawky structures they view as eyesores, he said.

A spokesman for the National League of Cities in Washington did not know of any municipality that has built its own cell tower to lease to wireless carriers.

Foster said his research found the city of Oakridge, Ore., has had success with a cell tower it built seven years ago.

Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at (727) 451-2333 or cmoncada@tampatrib.com.

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