DeKalb School Board Knocks Down Meadowview Cell Tower Proposal

Cell phone company T-Mobile USA Inc. lost its bid for a land-lease lease deal to build a cell tower at Meadowview Elementary, after DeKalb County school board members pulled the school from the construction list.

Board member Sarah Copelin-Wood, who represents Meadowview's neighborhood, said they "have no space" for a tower in that dense residential area.

She supported fellow board member Don McChesney's proposal to reject T-Mobile's bid for space at Meadowview and two other schools. Folks in his central DeKalb district "have made it clear how they feel," McChesney said at the meeting.

T-Mobile — which is being sold to AT&T by parent Deutsche Telekom or $39 billion in cash and stock — proposed a 30-year lease for tower space along the school's Wee Kirk Road entrance.

At some 150 feet, the tower would have been taller than the surrounding trees.

The county school system would have collected yearly rent ranging from $21,600 to $31,200 — adjusted annually for inflation — for the tower, depending on how much equipment T-Mobile eventually installed. That would have also determined the one-time cash payment Meadowview would have received, estimated to be between $25,000 and $100,000.

"Many people in Meadowview told me they want that facility," commented Eugene Walker, the super-district board member for the neighborhood. "Not just because of the money, but because of the benefit" in better phone reception.

Nevertheless, he voted to remove Meadowview.

The board did approve leases at nine other county schools. Now T-Mobile needs county planning and zoning approval. According to the company, permits plus building generally takes three to four months per tower.