MAPLETON – An agreement to allow the installation of a wireless communications tower at the Drayton firehall to improve cellular reception in the village’s downtown core is in the negotiation stage.
A staff report from Mapleton CAO Manny Baron, presented at the Jan. 25 council meeting, notes the township was approached in November by Bell Mobility to consider placing a 20-metre tower, along with a small equipment cabinet, next to the Drayton Fire Station.
“Bell Mobility has recognized there is a need for stronger signal in the downtown core and it is looking to enhance its customer service delivery,” states the report.
“They feel that there’s kind of a lapse in service within Drayton’s downtown core,” Baron told council, noting a negotiated agreement is currently being reviewed by the town’s lawyers.
Baron said the pending agreement is “good news for people who use the Bell tower.
“They’re getting better signal. And we are we are in the process as well, once this one is complete, of trying to negotiate a tower to be put up in Moorefield so that we can improve the service there as well,” added Baron who said the agreement will be “a good source of revenue” for the municipality.
The agreement, as proposed, would run for five years with the option to extend by three successive five-year terms. Bell Mobility would pay $10,000 per year for the first five years, $11,000 for the first extension, $12,100 for the second extension and $13,310 for the third extension, for a total of $232,050 for the potential 20-year term.
A motion authorizing the mayor and CAO to sign the agreement, once negotiated, was approved by council.
