MCPS Parent Questions Notification to Parents/Staff at Wheaton HS and New Propane Tank at Watkins Mill HS #celltower

The Montgomery County Tower Committee will vote to approve the give away of more public school land at Wheaton High School and Watkins Mill High School today at 2 PM. The land is being turned over to private, for profit companies who often don't pay their Maryland Property Taxes on these commercial uses.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Lisa Cline 
To: tower <tower@ctcnet.us>; marjorie.williams <marjorie.williams@montgomerycountymd.gov>; Boyd_Lawrence <Boyd_Lawrence@mcpsmd.org>; Gregory.Russ <Gregory.Russ@montgomeryplanning.org>; jay.oneill <jay.oneill@montgomerycountymd.gov>; Thomas.Williamson <Thomas.Williamson@montgomerycountymd.gov>; shawn.thompson <shawn.thompson@montgomerycountymd.gov>

Sonny Segal: Sonny.Segal@montgomerycountymd.gov 

Heather Elliott:  Heather.Elliott@montgomerycountymd.gov

Sent: Wed, Nov 7, 2018 8:33 am
Subject: 2 Agenda Items to Please Table!

Hello, Marjorie and Tower Committee.

As an MCPS parent, I am concerned about the lack of disclosure to the community about two items on today's agenda.

#25 (Wheaton HS)

1. This tower is painful close to the school. How can a tower NOT be moved when the school is rebuilt? Aren't there setbacks required by law/zoning code?

2. Please share with me proof that the school attendees (including the teachers) and the surrounding community members have been made aware of this addition and that proper MCPS Real Estate protocol has been followed.

#26 (Watkins Mill HS)

1. The co-location planned includes a propane tank. Please share with me the materials sent to the community informing them of this addition of a volatile, hazardous substance in such close proximity to the school. As I understand it, the community is entitled to prior notice and this was just posted about 24 hours ago.

Sincerely,

Lisa Cline

MCPS Staff Says Cell Tower was Approved in 2007 and Infers that 2007 Approval Applies in 2017 #NeelsvilleMiddleSchool

Base of cell tower on MCPS playground.

On June 8, 2017, a parent and community meeting was held at Neelsville Middle School to discuss the application by a cell tower vendor to build a cell tower on the school's field.

MCPS Real Estate staff member Boyd Lawrence began the meeting by announcing that a cell tower for Neelsville Middle School had been approved by former Superintendent Jerry Weast back in 2007. During the course of the meeting, Mr. Lawrence would bring this point back up as if that prior approval was still valid in 2017.

There are just a few problems with Mr. Lawrence's reference to a cell tower approval by Jerry Weast ten years ago.

First, the proposal for a cell tower back in 2007, was for a cell tower that was 83 feet high.  The recent proposal for a cell tower at Neelsville Middle School is for a cell that that was 150 feet high.

Second, the 2007 application was made by Sprint-Nextel, while the recent application was made by Verizon.

The height of the cell tower is an important fact in the recent application as the proposed location of the cell tower would put it close enough to the school so that in the event the cell tower were to fall over, it would land on the school building.  The area around a cell tower where the tower could fall is known as the fall zone and is one of the construction features reviewed when a cell tower is proposed.

Video of the entire public meeting is below and you will hear multiple references to the 2007 application as if the cell tower then was the same one that was being proposed this year.  Toward the end of the meeting you will hear the vendor's representative divert attention from the 2007 application drawing that was enlarged on the screen.  Obviously, MCPS and the vendor did not want to point out that the 2007 drawing was for a different cell tower from a different vendor.  That fact was not revealed to the public at this meeting.

At the end of the meeting the Neelsville Middle School PTSA voted unanimously to oppose the construction of a cell tower on the school's field.

NEELSVILLE PTSA: OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED CELL TOWER ON NEELSVILLE MIDDLE SCHOOL PROPERTY @mcps @mocoboe

  Neelsville PTSA Press Release and Update on Cell Tower 2017-06-13 by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Breaking: Board of Ed. Puts Cell Tower on Northwest HS in Violation of Own Policy

At yesterday's Montgomery County Tower Committee meeting MCPS staff put forward an application for a cell antenna to go on the roof of Northwest High School. 

The application was put forward in direct violation of the MCPS regulations requiring PTSA/community approval of these applications.

On May 9, 2017, during the Public Comment portion of the Board of Education meeting the Northwest PTSA made the BOE aware of MCPS staff's attempt to put this cell tower up without following MCPS regulations. 

The Montgomery County Board of Education was clearly aware of the proposal to put a cell tower antenna on top of Northwest High School and let their staff proceed with bringing this application before the Montgomery County Tower Committee for approval.  With the seal of approval from the Board of Education, the application to put the cell tower antenna on the top of Northwest High School was approved.

This will be the first cell tower antenna to be constructed on a MCPS school building and the first cell tower construction project to ever move forward with the consent of the Montgomery County Board of Education.

All previous cell towers that were constructed on MCPS property were done when Jerry Weast was superintendent and were constructed without a public presentation to the Board of Education.

2017:  The year the Montgomery County Board of Education turns public schools in the county over to cell tower vendors for commercial use, and the year that the Board of Education makes it very clear that parents and guardians are not partners in their local public schools.

Here's who to congratulate on this ground breaking move:

Michael Durso
Judith Docca
Jeanette Dixon
Shebra Evans
Patricia O'Neill
Jill Ortman-Fouse
Rebecca Smondrowski
Eric Guerci

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/boe/members/

$32,225.65 owed on Kennedy High School Cell Tower in Back Property Taxes

Kennedy High School cell tower

See our previous post on Wheaton High School's cell tower. 

03696682 is one of the property tax identification numbers for the Kennedy High School cell tower.  That tax id number shows thousands of dollars in back property taxes owed on the Kennedy High School cell tower.

Again, no one on the Board of Education cares if the private companies using public school land do not pay their property taxes.  
The Board of Education certainly does not need property taxes to fund MCPS!  

 

Exclusive Video: BOE Staff says, "I'm not an authority to accept the vote." #celltower #parklandmagnetmiddleschool

The Parents' Coalition has obtained exclusive video of the Parkland Magnet Middle School cell tower community meeting that was held on February 11, 2016.

At the meeting community, parents and PTA members took a vote to determine if there was any support, whatsoever, for the construction of a cell tower in the loading dock of Parkland Magnet Middle School.  As first reported here, the community meeting voted 53-0 to oppose the construction of this cell tower.

In the video of the meeting [at minute 10:35], you will hear the Board of Education representative say, "I'm not an authority to accept the vote."  Well, if a BOE staff member is not able to "accept" a vote of a community, who exactly is the "authority" that should have attended this meeting?  How is this community is to make their voice heard?

Note that when the Wootton High School community was opposed to the cell tower at that school, the Board of Education had no trouble understanding their position as expressed at the community meeting.  Wootton High School did not get a cell tower on their football field.  The proposal was stopped when the community meeting showed massive opposition to the plan.

Once again we see that different parts of the county are treated differently when it comes to putting a for-profit commercial compound on public school land. 

Parkland Parents Say Resounding No to Cell Tower in School's Loading Dock. 53 Opposed 0 in Favor

Red area shows planned location for cell tower compound.

The Montgomery County Board of Education presented their plan for building a cell tower compound in the loading dock of Parkland Magnet Middle School to parents and neighbors last night.

Of the 56 parents and neighbors in attendance at the meeting last night, no one was in favor of this plan.  The vote of those in attendance was 53 opposed, 3 abstentions, and 0 in favor.  

Parents at the meeting question why the Board of Education representative was advocating for the plan?  The money from these construction projects does not go into the MCPS Operating Budget, does not pay for teachers, and does not contribute to classrooms. 

Why is Board of Education staff pushing for this construction project that would take away much needed space for this middle school's operations?

Where does the money from the placement of cell towers on public school land really go, and how is it spent?