T-Mobile antennas approved for Arlington Heights water tower
Arlington Heights will allow T-Mobile to install antennas on a village water tower, some three years after officials initially floated the idea as a way to gain extra revenue.
But it could still be some time until antennas are installed and the village begins collecting any significant dollars, which would be earmarked for capital improvement projects around town.
Under the site lease agreement unanimously approved by the village board this week, T-Mobile has a one-year option period - with the ability to renew for up to three successive years - for space on the water tower behind Fire Station 3 at 2000 S. Arlington Heights Road.
During that time, as the company works to obtain all necessary governmental approvals for the antennas, the cellphone carrier will pay the village $2,400 a year.
After the antennas are installed, a five-year lease providing the village with $2,400 of rent per month and a $2,400 security deposit will begin. The lease allows for five five-year extensions, then nine one-year extensions, in which rent will be 105% of what it was the term before.
Village officials began looking into the possibility of a water tower lease in 2016 by talking with a telecommunications consultant and completing a feasibility study. The following year, board members signaled their openness to the idea as a way to reduce reliance on property taxes.
Village staff members reached out to cellular providers - initially not getting much interest - but T-Mobile eventually came forward and negotiated the last several months to put together an agreement, according to Village Manager Randy Recklaus.
Arlington Heights is one of the few communities in the area that doesn't already lease its public property to cellphone carriers, who increasingly are looking for more and more places to place antennas as a way to bolster service.
While Arlington Heights will start only by leasing space on its south side water tower, officials will keep an open mind for additional lease deals in the future, Recklaus said.
Preliminary sketches submitted with the lease agreement show antennas installed in three locations near the top of the water tower, though the precise locations are still subject to final review and approval by the village's planning or zoning panels.
The top of the water tower already contains small village-owned antennas used for emergency communications.