TODAY: Board of Ed. to Vote on Whether School Land is for Cell Tower Companies or Public School Children. Question for @mocoboe: Do you want to keep building cell towers or are you going to focus on using school land for public school children?

 From: Parents Coalition

Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2023 1:05 AM
To: BOE <BOE@mcpsmd.org>; Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org <Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org>; Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org <Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org>; Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org <Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org>; Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org <Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org>; Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org <Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org>; Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org <Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org>; Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org <Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org>; Leslie_E_TurnerPercival@mcpsmd.org <Leslie_E_TurnerPercival@mcpsmd.org>; sami_saeed@mcpsmd.org <sami_saeed@mcpsmd.org>

Subject: Did Seth Adams tell the BOE that a Cell Tower Application was REJECTED because Adams and McKnight CANNOT sign for the BOE?

 

To the members of the Montgomery County Board of Education:

At your July 20, 2023, Board of Education meeting you will once again be told that a Telecommunications Lease Agreement is being presented to you as a courtesy.

THAT IS A LIE.

Agenda Item 9.16 for the Woodwards Road Elementary School site MUST be voted on by the Board of Education.  

Policy ECN DOES NOT give Superintendent McKnight or Seth Adams the power to sign away property rights.  A lease signs away rights in a property.  

The Board of Education is the LAND OWNER and only the LAND OWNER can sign away property rights.  

You have the power to vote to give away property rights or to retain property rights.  It is YOUR CHOICE.  

Do you want to keep giving away school land to private companies? Approve the lease.  

Do you want public school land preserved for public school students? Don't approve the lease. Your choice.

How do we know this?  

What happened to the cell tower on the Woodward High School site?  It's gone! Do you know why?  

The Woodward High School cell tower was removed because YOU did not authorize a new cell tower to be constructed on that property.  

On September 15, 2022, the Hearing Examiner in case CU 22-09 in the OFFICE OF ZONING AND ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS for MONTGOMERY COUNTY determined that the Application for a new cell tower at the Woodward High School site was INCOMPLETE because it was not signed by the LAND OWNER.  The land owner is you, the Board of Education.

[MCPS Office of Facilities Management] Seth Adams was present at that hearing and heard the determination of the Hearing Examiner.  He could not sign in your place.  Because you did not authorize that Application, the Application was withdrawn and the matter closed.

Again, the Hearing Examiner determined that SETH ADAMS COULD NOT SIGN FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.  The Hearing Examiner ruled that there was NO DELEGATION to Seth Adams to sign on behalf of the Board of Education. The Application was deemed incomplete because it was not signed by the LAND OWNER.  

This is not the first time a cell tower application has been withdrawn because the Board of Education (the land owner) did not authorize the project, but it is the most recent time this has happened.

The September 15, 2022, ORDER in CU 22-09 from the OFFICE OF ZONING AND ADMINSTRATIVE HEARINGS for MONTGOMERY COUNTY is attached to this email.  Read it for yourself. 

Today, it's up to you.  

Do you want to keep building cell towers or are you going to focus on using school land for public school children? 

Janis Zink Sartucci

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

CU 22-09 Order Requiring Am... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

**Breaking: 5/11/23 Board of Education to Unanimously Support Using Dedicated School Land in Gaithersburg for Cell Towers Instead of School***

At the May 11, 2023, Montgomery County Board of Education meeting the Board of Education will unanimously vote to give away more school land to a private, for-profit corporation.

Why not? Schools aren't needed, correct?  Public school land should be just given away for free to private for-profit corporations, correct?  Meanwhile Montgomery County residents should have to pay more in taxes to support the public schools.  

Here's the Board of Education resolution that is on the Board's Consent (no discussion) Agenda for Thursday, May 11, 2023. 

The Board of Education will be giving away 36 square feet of dedicated, public school land for free. 

This will add to the already large cell tower compound at this school site. Click here for the Google Earth view of the cell tower compound that the Board of Education wants instead of a school. 

The cell tower compound at this school site is so large at this site that the land can no longer be used for a public school. 

The Resolution says: 

On November 5, 2021, DISH Wireless LLC received site development approval from the City of Gaithersburg to place antenna and ground equipment at the existing telecommunications site at the Woodwards Road future school site...

But no such approval exists in the City of Gaithersburg permitting records.  Why not just make up approval?  Who cares? 

Here's a corrected version of the Board of Education Resolution:

Cell Tower REMOVED from Woodward High School site! Woodward HS site is now Cell Tower Free!

Montgomery County Public Schools Director of Facilities Seth P. Adams tried to have the cell tower at the Woodward High School site moved to the bleachers for the new school, but he failed.  

The cell tower at the Woodwards High School site was placed on the site in 2002 by former Superintendent Jerry Weast without any Board of Education notice or approval.

In the summer of 2022, MCPS Director of Facilities Seth P. Adams attempted to have a new cell tower built on the site without any Board of Education authorization.  That attempt failed and the application for a new cell tower at the site was denied.  

The original 2002 cell tower is in the path of the new construction and was removed on April 13, 2023.  

IT'S GONE!

@mcps Int. Super. McKnight wants to Renew Cell Tower Lease for Company that hasn't paid Property Taxes since 2015, owes $36,410.53 in Back Taxes.

Did Montgomery County Interim Superintendent Monifa B. McKnight do any due diligence when she told the Board of Education to enter into a 20 year lease for a cell tower compound on the Woodwards Road Future School site?  

Every cell tower located on Board of Education land must have a property tax identification number. 

The ID number for the SBA Communications cell tower on the Woodwards Road Future School site land is 16-09-03696820. This is the lease that the Interim Superintendent wants the Board of Education to approve.  

https://www.scribd.com/document/521396491/MCPS-Telecommunication-Facility-Locations-on-public-school-land

When we check the Property Tax ID for the current SBA lease on the Woodwards Road Future School site we find property tax records that show that the last time the property taxes were paid on that lease was in 2015. 

It appears the current past due property taxes for the lease that the MCPS Interim Superintendent wants the Board of Education to approve totals  $36,410.53. 

https://apps.montgomerycountymd.gov/realpropertytax/

FIB #2: Interim Superintendent says Cell Tower Lease would not impact long term planning of school site. But it already has!

On August 24, 2021, the Montgomery County Board of Education will be presented with a Memorandum from Monifa B. McKnight, Interim Superintendent of Schools. The Memorandum starts out with a fib and continues on to end with a fib:

WHEREAS, Staff in the Department of Facilities Management believe a new telecommunication lease with SBA Communications Corporation, under specific renewal terms, would not impact the current use or long-term planning of the Woodwards Road future school site;

We know that "WHEREAS" paragraph is false because the use of this empty future elementary school site as a cell tower compound has already prevented the land from being used for an elementary school at least three times.  

Here is one example from 2011:  The cell tower leases took priority over the classroom needs of Montgomery County Public School students and caused the Woodwards Road Future School site to be passed over as the location for a much needed elementary school. [Cell tower compound shown in red circle in image at left. Image shows entire Woodwards Road Future School site.]

...The Woodwards Road Elementary School property would require access  from Emory Grove Road, the road frontage of which is limited. This factor could limit the number of driveway curb cuts for optimum vehicular circulation.  The site is leased to four telecommunications companies and one utility company. Further study would be needed to determine whether there would be adequate space for the existing telecommunications operations to continue operations on the site...

 https://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2011/12/cell-tower-compound-prevents-use-of.html

The cell tower leases also kept the Woodwards Road Future School site from being used for an elementary school last year.  Instead of using their existing, dedicated, paid for, elementary school site the Board of Education paid over $1 million dollars to the City of Gaithersburg to get them to tear down a neighborhood park for an elementary school.  Kelly Park is right down the road from the Woodwards Road Future School site.  

Kelley Park in the City of Gaithersburg was destroyed so that the Woodwards Road Future School site could remain a cell tower compound for the use of private companies.  

Tuesday: Interim Superintendent Fibs to Board of Education about Cell Tower Lease Agreement on Woodwards Road Future School Site. Superintendent to Tie Up Open School Land for Cell Tower instead of Using it for Classrooms.

On August 24, 2021, the Montgomery County Board of Education will be presented with a Memorandum from Monifa B. McKnight, Interim Superintendent of Schools. The Memorandum says,

On October 15, 2002, the Board of Education entered into a telecommunications lease agreement with Sprint APC Realty for approximately 300 square feet of land at the vacant Woodwards Road future school site located at 8700 Emory Grove Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland. 

But that statement is FALSE.  The Montgomery County Board of Education NEVER entered into a lease agreement to turn over the vacant, dedicated future elementary school site known as Woodwards Road Future School.  

The Parents' Coalition obtained the original leases for the Woodwards Road Future School site and discovered that the leases had only been signed by the then superintendent, Jerry Weast.  

The leases were never brought before the Montgomery County Board of Education for a vote.  As the land owner, the Board of Education's signature would be require on a lease or transfer of any dedicated, public school land.  

Note the only signature on the 2002 Woodwards Road Future School site lease is that of the superintendent.  There is no signature of the Board of Education. 

If the Board of Education had voted to lease this future school site the signature of the President of the Board of Education would appear on behalf of the Board of Education.  There would also be minutes documenting such a vote. No minutes exist.

October 15, 2002, lease of Woodwards Road Future School site shows only the signature of the then superintendent, Jerry Weast. 

Follow up:  The August 24, 2021, Memorandum contains an additional fib,

 as if the first one wasn't enough to get this vote passed by the Board of Education. 

AND

The company that wants this new 20 year lease appears to still

 owe back $36,410.53 in back property taxes on the existing cell tower.

Woodwards Road Elementary S... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Wed. Jan. 6th Public Meeting: Vendor Wants to Move Cell Tower on MCPS School Site without Board of Ed. Approval. Back Property Taxes Owed on Cell Tower = $4,699.

Design Development for Cell Tower Relocation at Charles W. Woodward High School Project  Community Work Session (Tilden Middle School site on Old Georgetown Road)

Date: Wednesday, January 6th, 2021

Time: 6:30 pm

Location: Zoom Meeting

Meeting #: 919 2973 6178    

Passcode: 534386

Additional Zoom link information for this meeting at this link. 

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1.  When did the Montgomery County Board of Education approve the placement of a cell tower at the Tilden Middle School/Woodward High School site?

2. The cell tower that this vendor wants to move owes back taxes of $4,699.  This is not the first time this cell tower has had a vendor owe back taxes.  In fact, the Parents' Coalition has been tracking this cell tower for years and property taxes are frequently not paid on this site. 

3.  When did the Board of Education approve a new location at this school site for a cell tower?  Board of Education decisions require a public vote.  The Board of Education is the land owner for this property.  In order for a private organization to construct a structure on Board of Education property, the Board of Education would have to authorize a Lease with the private company.  Has that been done?  When? Who signed the Lease? 

Notice of Community Meeting by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Notice of Community Meeting... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...