By MIKE CAPUTO
The contract calls for two cell towers - one at Station 1 on East Meadow Avenue, and another at Station 4 on Salisbury Park Drive and Carman Avenue.
Citing health concerns and quality-of-life issues, the opposition group organized a rally before the Board of Fire Commissioners meeting on Monday night near the fire district headquarters on East Meadow Avenue. "This doesn't belong in the heart of the community," Robert Zafonte, president of the East Meadow Civic Association, said of the cell towers. "It is going to be near families, near schools."
According to Fire Commissioner Carey Welt, cell tower providers approached the district for several years, and the district made a contractual agreement with Omnipoint last October. Welt explained that the decision was purely a financial one, made in the interest of both the fire district and its taxpayers. Two cell towers will generate an estimated $250,000 a year for the fire district, offsetting major costs in a budget that was over $5 million in 2008, he said.
"Things are going up every year," Welt said. "If we could offset that increase by bringing in revenue that is not coming out of the taxpayer's pocket, we thought we were doing a good thing, and that was the sole reason behind granting permission initially to erect the cell towers.
"If we could bring in a quarter of a million dollars from a nontaxable revenue source, then that is a quarter of a million dollars the people in the district wouldn't have to pay," the commissioner added. He noted that state law requires the revenue to go directly into the fire district's general fund.
After concerns were voiced in January, Welt said, the fire district explored the possibility of pulling out of the deal. That option was quickly rejected, he said, after the district was threatened with $300,000 in damages for breaching the contract with Omnipoint, which claimed to have already incurred expenses for engineering and filing fees.
Since then, the fire district has stood by its decision to move forward with the cell towers. The project has yet to be approved by the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals, which has a hearing set for the issue on Wednesday at 2 p.m. If the plan is not approved by the town, the fire district would not face a lawsuit.
Zafonte and Mike Finnegan, who led the small anti-cell tower group in a quiet yet spirited rally by the small anti-cell tower group, plan to attend the BZA hearing and speak against the proposal. "I'm hoping that people voice their opinion against the cell towers and the fire district would then reconsider," said Finnegan, a former EMFD deputy chief.
Finnegan spent 15 years with the fire department and rose to deputy chief, but was dismissed after a variety of charges by the district that stemmed from two domestic dispute-related arrests. Since then, Finnegan, who says he was wrongfully removed from his post, has launched a Web campaign against the district centered on his concerns for the budget, transparency and the cell tower issue.
Several cell tower opponents have raised fears that the structures would pose health risks to the community. On Finnegan's Web site, he cites an article that outlines international studies linking health risks to cell towers.
However, Welt said he has conducted his own extensive research that included the American Cancer Society, and has concluded that the towers would not pose health risks. According to the ACS Web site, "several theoretical considerations suggest that cellular phone towers are unlikely to cause cancer."
"There is nothing to support the connection of any health-related issue or any other problem at cell sites," Welt said.
Although there are no cell towers in East Meadow, there are already several cell sites in the community, including at the Nassau University Medical Center. Cell sites, unlike towers, are antenna-like structures on the tops of buildings. The EMFD plans to have towers similar to those that now stand in front of stations in the Baldwin and Hempstead fire districts, which are disguised as flagpoles.
Therese Panico, an East Meadow resident for 37 years, said that the vocal opposition should warrant the district's withdrawal from the proposal. "I think they should respect the taxpayers' request," Panico said.
Bob Guzowski, whose home on Oxford Road overlooks Station 1 in East Meadow, attended the rally on Monday night after he received a flier from the opposition group. Guzowski said he did not receive notification from the fire district. "They never send out anything for things like this," he said of the fire district.
During the fire district board meeting, Welt acknowledged the limited community notification, but noted that all proceedings leading up to the contract agreement took place during the board's open, public sessions.
The fire department's Web site lists most upcoming events and public sessions, and it has now posted notification of Wednesday's BZA meeting at Hempstead Town Hall.
Comments about this story? MCaputo@
liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
