Hoffman Est. cell tower plan gets fuzzy reception

Hoffman Estates Park District officials will consider their options now that a plan for a cellphone tower at High Point Park has stalled.

One option is a less-imposing flagpole design, Park District Executive Director Dean Bostrom said. A similar design received positive feedback from residents when the park district installed one last fall at Willow Park.

“It’s a white pole with a little dome on top,” Bostrom said. “Most people don’t even know what it is.”

The village board on Monday tabled a vote on the current proposal, which calls for an 85-foot tower installed by T-Mobile. Instead they hired a consultant to look over the plan and sent the proposal back to the village’s zoning board of appeals.

Residents have scrutinized the initial plan, telling the board that placing the tower in the middle of the park would ruin its aesthetics.

Trustees Raymond Kincaid and Gary Pilafas previously voted against the tower at a meeting earlier this month, but the board has yet to make a final decision.

Village Manager James Norris said FCC regulations require the board to have a valid basis to reject the plan. The consultant’s report will take a couple weeks to complete, he added.

In lieu of the village’s actions, the park board will discuss options, including other locations for the tower. The park board already has reviewed the plan and approved it.

The park district would receive $25,000 per year for allowing the tower. Bostrom said the plan is an example of officials looking for different money makers to lessen the dependence on tax money. The $100,000 earned over four years would help pay for a playground that’s scheduled for replacement.

“It’s trying to find a balance, we’re not trying to compromise the park,” Bostrom said.

The village board has 90 days from receiving T-Mobile’s plan to approve or reject the proposal, Norris said.

Bostrom said T-Mobile wouldn’t be considering a tower if the company did not believe customers needed better reception.