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Ilcity of NEW BRIGH'II)\ ,the city that works for you Memo Date: March 8, 2012 To: Manager Lotter Mayor Jacobsen Members of the Council From: Janice Gundlach, City Planrv; Grant Fernelius, Community Development Director Subject: March 13th Work Session Discussion on Clearwire Tower @ Freedom Park, 2121 14th ST NW Introduction Next Tuesday staff and our attorney (Peter Mikhail, Kennedy & Graven) will provide an update on the status of discussions with Clearwire, LLC regarding the cell tower that was constructed in Freedom Park. Because of the potential threat of litigation, it would be highly advisable to close portions of work session as allowed under Minnesota Statutes Chap. 13D. Peter Mikhail will advise the Council on the steps that should be taken in order to comply with State law concerning these kinds of discussions. Background As most of the Council is aware, the Clearwire case dates to 2009 when the company presented a proposal to build a new cell tower in Freedom Park. The City eventually approved the proposal (January 2010) with additional conditions that the tower be able to support an existing ball field light bank and hold up to three additional cell carriers. This concept would help minimize the aesthetic impact of multiple cell towers in combination with the existing array of ball field lights. Co-location gave the City the ability to generate additional ground lease revenue. Currently, only Clearwire's equipment is located on the tower. The ball field lights were not re-located, which will be described later in the memo. City staff became aware of a design issue related to the Clearwire telecommunications tower at Freedom Park in the fall of 2010. In brief, the tower built is not consistent with the plans that were reviewed and approved through the special use permit process. In addition, the tower built is not consistent with the plans that are attached to the current lease agreement with Clearwire. The main issue of concern is the overall diameter (width) of the pole. The plan accepted and approved by the City Council, showed a tower diameter of 20.5" at the base. However, the actual tower constructed has a diameter of 45", which in terms of circumference terms is 220% larger.