MIDDLETOWN, NJ - The township expects to finalize a deal within two weeks that will sell future revenue from existing multiyear lease deals on three communication towers, to a Los Angeles company that specializes in managing, marketing and buying antennas. Instead of collecting about $92,000 in annual revenue from various cellular companies for more than 20 years, said Richard Wright, the township's chief financial officer, Middletown intends to sign a $890,000 contract with Wireless Capital Partners, which will take over the leases.
The money will be used to help balance this year's proposed $62.3 million budget, which will raise property taxes by 7.1 percent. Township Committeeman Patrick Short has criticized the deal, saying it will simply plug a hole in the budget of one year instead of providing consistent revenue over several years that could add up to over $2 million. "This is going to take away the revenue that we would receive in the future," Short said.
Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger, who is in favor of the deal, said there is no guarantee that the revenue would be there in future years. The mayor noted that the future of cellular technology is unclear, with the possibility that companies at some point will use satellite technology to provide signals to phones instead of land-based antennas. "This will allow us to protect ourselves against something that may become obsolete," said Scharfenberger of the deal.
The three towers are located at the township's Fire Training Academy, public works building and municipal building, said Anthony Mercantante, Middletown's administrator. Should a cellular company want to attach a new antenna to any of the towers, the revenue would be considered separate from the township's pending deal with Wireless Capital Partners, Mercantante said.
Separately from the township, the Middletown Housing Authority is also seeking companies interested in attaching cellular antennas to the roofs of either or both of two public housing buildings, said Joseph Billy, its executive director. The deadline for the request for proposals is June 24, said Billy, who hopes to raise tens of thousands of annual revenue for the authority. "Up on the roof, these are things most people wouldn't even notice," Billy said.
Source: APP.com