Local & State Headlines

City delays cell tower vote

• A cellular telephone company's attempt to locate a tower in the Doublegate neighborhood is temporarily put on hold.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — The long-running argument over the authority of Albany’s Water, Gas & Light Commission resurfaced Tuesday night as Albany City Commissioners decided to table a vote on the location of a cell phone tower on property near Doublegate Country Club.

Andrew Rotenstreich, an attorney with the Birmingham, Ala., law firm Haskell, Slaughter, Young & Rediker representing Alltel Communications Inc., met with Commissioner Bob Langstaff prior to the commission’s 8 p.m. business session to discuss an alternate site for the proposed tower, which has drawn heavy protests from Douglegate-area homeowners.

“A representative of the company (Alltel) has agreed that if we table the matter, the company will possibly seek an alternate site to locate the tower,” Langstaff said at the work session.

Rotenstreich then indicated he had only recently learned that denial of use of an existing water tower for location of the cell tower had been made by WG&L officials without proper authority.

“I have a signed affidavit by an employee stating that Ronnie Skates of Water, Gas & Light said the commission did not allow shared use of the water tower except with the city of Albany,” the attorney said. “The affidavit is dated April 18, 2005. We’ve made contact with (WG&L) in the last two-three weeks, and again we were told we could not place a (cell) tower on the existing water tower.

“We assumed that the property was owned by Water, Gas & Light. We’ve since learned that the property we discussed is owned by the city. If this board tables this matter for a period of 30 days, we will try and negotiate to relocate our tower at a property different than the one in question.”

Langstaff then offered resolutions authorizing City Manager Alfred Lott to negotiate with Alltel for alternate property to relocate the cell tower and another tabling the planned vote on the proposed rezoning matter to allow the tower in the Doublegate neighborhood. Both passed unanimously.

The commission also voted to clarify the city’s 1,000-foot proximity ordinance in relation to businesses that primarily sell alcohol so that, as Langstaff said, “Code Enforcement can make a ruling on any such matter without any questions.” The amended ordinance clarifies distance regulations concerning such establishsments’ proximity to schools, churches and other establishments that primarily sell alcohol.

The new ordinance also clearly defines churches as “permanent, fee-standing structures.”

Prior to the busy work session, personnel in the city’s Finance Department were honored for receiving a certificate of achievement for excellence in financial reporting. Also, Cairo Mayor Richard VanLandingham gave Lott and Assistant Albany Fire Department Chief Roderick Jolivette plaques thanking them for the “loan” of Jolivette when Cairo was without a fire chief.

“Our only mistake was agreeing not to try and hire Assistant Chief Jolivette,” VanLandingham said.

Commissioners later OK’d granting alcohol licenses to La’Jua’s Restaurant at 704 Radium Springs Road, the Beer Garden at 1540 N. Washington St. and Xscade at 1019 W. Broad St. They moved clarification of the proximity ordinance up in the agenda so that they voted on that matter before giving final approval to the alcohol license applications.

The commission also authorized a comprehensive pay study, to be conducted by the Archer Co. at a price of $103,320 (which will include WG&L personnel), and approved bids of $74,659 for rental work uniforms and $121,515.75 for laboratory and analytical services.

Commissioners approved ordinances allowing rezoning property at Darton College for the construction of 272 housing units, rezoning property on Westover Boulevard to allow for single-family mobile homes, closing a portion of Pine Alley and the creation of a Director of Code Enforcement position.

Resolutions were also passed accepting rights-of-way deeds for the Forest Park Subdivision, the Gillionville Road Widening Project and the Walgreens deceleration lane at Pine Avenue and Gillionville Road; accepting an easement agreement at the Greenway Trail Project; permitting Albany Tomorrow Inc. to hold its Dec. 7 First Friday event adjacent to the Ray Charles Plaza; certifying the Nov. 6 election results; and authorizing the sale of property at 404 and 406 Ebony Lane to River Road Church of Christ and city- owned property to the Cutliff Grove Family Resource Center Inc.

Commissioner Bo Dorough recognized citizens from the Country Club Estates neighborhood and asked that the commission give the city manager its approval to direct a letter to HUD concerning the citizens’ protest over the construction of a senior housing development in their neighborhood.

That request was approved by the board.

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