T-Mobile To Construct a Cell Phone Tower At GW RECenter

T-Mobile has obtained approval for a minor site plan to construct a cell phone tower at the George Washington RECenter, according to Brett Kenney, chief aide for Fairfax County Supervisor Gerry Hyland.

Revenue from the lease will fund the Mount Vernon Nights concert series at Grist Mill Park, which Kenney called “a dedicated source of revenue.”

“In the past, we relied on donations and private companies to keep that program going,” said Kenney.

The Park Authority Board approved a monopole license for construction of a monopine treepole at the RECenter in December 2009, according to Fairfax County Park Authority Spokesperson Judy Pedersen.  T-Mobile is now responsible for sending the project out to bid and obtaining a contractor.

“Once that project is sent out to bid, it’s our understanding the contractor will obtain site permit and building permit,” said Pedersen.

If all of the paperwork is in order, the master site plan could be approved in 30 days, said Kenney. If the building permit is approved, the contractors could start construction 30 days later.  

In its Policy Manual, the FCPA states that the board “shall consider the placement of telecommunications monopoles and related equipment on park property only if all other possible locations have been exhausted by the applicant and no feasible and prudent alternative site exists, and all of the following location criteria have been met.”

“There’s no good answer, but to say the board considers things carefully and make what they think is the best decision,” remarked Pedersen.

A controversial plan to construct a cell phone tower at Mount Vernon High School was scrapped a few years ago. The GW RECenter was an alternate site.

Patch spoke with residents at the GW RECenter one day last week to see what they thought of the plans. All of the residents who were interviewed supported the construction of the cell phone tower. 

"It'll be camouflaged so well that I won't even notice," remarked one resident, who wished to remain anonymous. "We have T-Mobile. We live two miles away and the coverage is pretty good."

When told that the cell phone tower was actually a T-Mobile tower, the resident said, "In that case, we might actually cancel our landline."