The Edgar Road Cell Tower

Making my way through our town has been a real eye opener. Every neighborhood has an issue. Some might seem big and some might seem small. For me I just wanted a few four way stops on Patterson and Hollywood to try to keep the teenagers from running over my children. For the people on Edgar Road, their issue may sound at first like a localized issue, but it is one that is about to effect EVERY resident in town.

Most of you might know a little about the tower. T-Mobile claims they need more coverage in our area. Our town representatives have decided that it is in the collective best interest to take down the existing communication tower behind Borough Hall and erect a 120' tower that could support all 5 cell carriers and bring some much needed revenue into the town. This sounds good on paper and I agree we need the money. However, this tower directly impacts the residents who will live in its shadow. There is no argument that their property values will be affected. There is no argument that the tower does not meet local and state set-back provisions. There is no argument that it is illegal to spot zone on municipal property. There is no argument that if T-Mobile wants it bad enough that they will find a privately owned property and the money would better serve the town with $70,000 or so in tax relief. 

There is also no argument that the town has made little effort to reach a compromise with the residents of Edgar Road who have proposed moving the tower to the front of the Municipal property and using a flag pole style tower like Brielle did near Rt. 70. They have proposed putting the tower on Fire Co. #2's property where the income could relieve some of our support to their budget. And there have been others, but the the town's plan was decided long ago and now it's a matter of gaining approvals instead of drawing compromises.

So how does this affect EVERY resident of Pt. Pleasant? The Edgar Road residents are prepared to fight their cause in court and when they do WE TAXPAYERS will be paying OUR BOROUGH ATTORNEY to fight OUR OWN FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS because our town representatives decided that the concerns of a few residents were not important enough. Now they are going to spend OUR MONEY to protect THEIR PRIDE.

I do not look forward to more years of a governing body that tells us when our concerns are or are not legitimate. I do not look forward to when it's my turn, over some other issue, to face a governing body that practices deception to achieve their agenda. And I do not appreciate the ease with which misinformation is spread. But don't believe me. The people on Edgar Road are your neighbors, your friends, call them or stop by and ask them what's going on. Someday it may be your backyard.