By ARIELLA MONTI
Since a March 26 meeting of the Rockville Centre Zoning Board at which it considered the installation of a cell phone tower in the steeple of the church, St. Mark's has faced intense opposition in the community because of concerns about a tower's potential effects on health, neighborhood aesthetics and property values.
"After a year of careful investigation and research, we do not believe that there is any health threat from wireless communications facilities," said Johns in response to those who believe that radio-frequency radiation given off by cell phone towers cause health problems. "However, we do respect the views of our neighbors."
Johns said that the church's relationship with the community is far more important than any monetary gain it might realize from renting the space in the steeple to Omnipoint Communications, and he has asked Omnipoint to release the parish from the contract they finalized in September of 2007.
According to the village, discussions of the proposed tower between the zoning board and Omnipoint have been adjourned for the time being with no date set to resume them.
An alternative site for a free-standing cell tower, the corner of Eagle Avenue and Peninsula Boulevard, has been proposed, but it, too poses problems. The property, though now owned by the village, was once New York State park land, and the area is only to be used for park purposes. The village would need state approval before a tower could be erected there.
"We were shocked," said Johns of the community's negative reaction to the proposed tower. Ultimately, however, he said, the sometimes heated discussions strengthened the relationships between the church and many of the organizations that use the building, especially St. Mark's Cooperative Nursery School.
"Many people who were angry at us for even considering inviting the wireless communication facility into our building strongly asserted that if we turned down the cell tower, the community would respond to help us," said Johns of his discussions with neighbors at the March zoning board meeting and at the nursery school.
Johns said that by next year, the church will have used up the last of the endowment money donated by former Mayor Walter Halliday and his wife. The Halliday donation has helped keep the church afloat since half of the congregation left in 1998 in the wake of a number of disputes with the former pastor, Tom Searfoss. The endowment was also used to renovate the building, to make it viable for community use.
"No one is going to bail us out," said Johns.
To raise funds, the church rents its facilities to 40 different organizations, from Girl Scout troops to Alcoholics Anonymous. "While we are firm in our faith convictions, we do not push our beliefs on anyone," said Johns of the secular and religious organizations that make use of the facility.
Among other fundraisers held throughout the year, the church sponsored its sixth annual pumpkin patch, which was attended by hundreds of neighbors and raised $26,000. St. Mark's will host a Christmas tree sale for the first time in December, according to Johns.
Johns said the church would like to continue to play an important part in village life, but unless the parish receives the community support, it may be forced to close its doors. "We want to invite our friends and neighbors to meet with us to establish a community support group to look at ways this church can better serve the community," he said, "and ways in which the community can help us to survive and thrive."
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