Atlantic Beach Trustees to Scrutinize AT&T Antenna Request

The Atlantic Beach Board of Trustees is looking into AT&T’s application to replace and install additional cell antennas on the New Nautilus Hotel to see if the project is absolutely necessary.

“Even though there is no guarantee that we can be successful, I think that we have to oppose it as strenuously as we can rather than set a precedent that all these companies can continue to do this,” Mayor Stephen Mahler said.

It was decided that the same expert, Richard Comi of Center for Municipal Solutions Consultants, would continue advising the board of appeals on whether it is necessary to add to the seven antennas the phone company currently has in Atlantic Beach.

“I wouldn’t say that it's quite accurate that we are taking a position of opposing them,” Village Attorney Charles Kovit said. “We're putting them to their proof and making sure they don't sell us a used car. The village just wants to make sure its decision is an informed one.” 

Police Report

Officer Carey of the Fourth Precinct reported no arrests, no parking tickets and an unusually low eight moving violations during December in Atlantic Beach, startling the trustees.

“Would you believe that in the 1970s they used to give out over 500 summonses a month here,” Mahler said. “Our public safety is at great risk.”

Even more disappointing to the board was that the number of summonses has significantly dropped after donating a radar unit to the Fourth Precinct, according to Mahler.

“It is embarrassing seeing a car, or two cars, sitting at the rescue station for hours at a time,” he said. “It’s really disgraceful because we’ve had a couple of fatalities.”

While the board did not hold Carey responsible for the low number of tickets, he did answer for his precinct.

“Just because there aren't necessarily tickets being given doesn't mean people are not being stopped,” Carey said with little understanding from the board. “I release people with warnings all the time.”

50th Anniversary

Susan Jaffe and the Atlantic Beach Village 50th Anniversary committee are currently seeking out donations to fund invitation printing, entertainment and food for the villages celebration scheduled for June 21.

“We are working on putting together the budget and finalizing the letter, which we will be able to use to start our fundraising,” Jaffe said.

Appointments

The board swore in Anthony Siniscalchi to a one-year term as the zoning board of appeals chairman, Carl Baessler to a five-year term as commissioner and Steven Watkins to a one-year term as an alternate commissioner.