Township Plans to Hire Consultant to Negotiate Gladwyne Cell Tower Contract

The Lower Merion Board of Commissioners Building and Planning Committee on Wednesday night again postponed a vote whether to renew AT&T/New Cingular Wireless’ lease agreement to use the Lattice Tower at for wireless communications.

Instead, the committee voted unanimously to authorize the township manager to hire a third-party consultant to negotiate a higher lease with AT&T. As part of the action, the committee said that the consultant would be paid a flat fee of $2,500.

This is the second time that the Building and Planning Committee tabled its vote on the lease renewal. It and asked township staff to negotiate a higher rent.

In response, AT&T agreed to increase the monthly rent by $100.

Under the new terms proposed on Wednesday, the AT&T agreement would be renewed for three additional five-year terms beginning in 2012 and the company would pay the township:

• $1,850 per month from 2012-2017
• $2,000 per month from 2017-2022
• $2,150 per month from 2022-2027

Commissioner Scott Zelov suggested that the committee table its vote on the contract and hire a consultant so that the township could try to obtain a higher rent than what was proposed on Wednesday.