Committee to review project plans in June
By: Jessica Beym
The township is nearly ready to have someone build a cell tower in the village.
The Township Committee is expected to review design specifications June 12 for a proposed cell tower to be built behind the Cranbury Firehouse.
Township Administrator Tom Witt said the Township Committee must approve the specifications before it solicits bids for a cell carrier to construct a tower on the site.
The township began drawing up bid proposals last year to construct the tower as a way to boost cellular service on the western side of town.
The plans began after Sprint contacted the township with a request to locate one of its communication towers within the township. To find out the feasibility of the project, Sprint conducted a study last year to find out what area would be best in order to provide the most coverage.
According to Sprint’s study, the current lattice tower behind the firehouse, which hosts police and emergency communications, is not compatible with current cell tower communications. However, the report showed that the site is optimal for providing the most coverage.
The township approved a resolution in September to solicit bids from multiple carriers. Mr. Witt said Tuesday the township received a number of bids at the time, but the carriers were confused about the vague design specifications.
"We had so many questions coming in that we thought it would be best to bring (the companies) in to discuss it," Mr. Witt said. "Obviously, Cranbury has never done this before and it’s pretty involved because every carrier uses different equipment."
Mr. Witt said that with the help of the township’s planner, engineer and attorney, the Cell Tower Subcommittee was able to establish a set of parameters that carriers would have to adhere to if they were awarded a contract.
Township Planner Richard Preiss said Monday that the new specifications would meet the state Historic Preservation Office’s requirements, which is necessary because the site lies within the state-designated Historic District.
Some of the specifics include requiring that the tower be similar to the steel lattice structure that currently sits at the site. The new tower must be built within a 30-foot radius of the current site, and any antennae must not exceed 10 feet about the existing point of the structure.
Mr. Witt said the existing police and emergency communication antennae must also remain connected and once the new tower is constructed, the antennae will be relocated to the new tower.
Mr. Witt said the township would award a contract to the "most responsible bidder," which would then be responsible for constructing the new tower. The company could then sell or lease space on the tower to other carriers.
"The carriers know the restraints and understand our requirements for aesthetics." Mr. Witt said. "We will take the carrier that will pay the most revenue to Cranbury Township, but they have to conform to the plan or the wouldn’t be the most responsible bidder. "
The Township Committee was scheduled to discuss the specifications on Monday but the discussion was postponed so members of committee could review the information.
"We’re looking for the committee’s blessing to get the bids out and set a date to select the most beneficial and responsible bidder," Mr. Witt said.

