Cell-phone tower at Minnetonka school raises health fears

Neighbors are opposing construction of a 90-foot T Mobile cell phone tower at Glen Lake Elementary School in Minnetonka, but the Hopkins School District has endorsed it and is urging the City of Minnetonka to give its OK.

The school district stands to gain $1,100 a month by allowing T Mobile to erect a tower where a light pole now stands next to the school hockey rink. The rink light would be remounted on the tower.

If the city approves, the district would give T Mobile a five-year lease with the right to extend it another 20 years.

Yet in letters to City Hall, residents have said a tall tower would be an eyesore not in keeping with the residential neighborhood. Some others also fear the tower transmissions could be a potential health threat to residents and schoolchildren.

Mark and Sima Feldman, who live directly across Woodbridge Road from the school, said there has not been enough study of the cumulative health effects of the radio waves.

"It's a school, not an industrial facility," Sima Feldman said. "My main concern is adverse health effects, especially for kids. This is a case where it's better to be safe than sorry."

The city has hired a technical expert for advice on whether a different location would work and whether the tower has to be 90 feet tall, City Planner Julie Wischnack said.

T-Mobile believes there are no adverse health effects from the tower transmissions, said Mark Wilson, head of central region external affairs for T Mobile Wireless.

"These are radio waves. They are extremely low power," he said. "They have been installed for several decades now, and there is no evidence of adverse health effects."

He suggested that people concerned about the possible health effects check with the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Food and Drug Administration and the American Cancer Society.

A 1996 federal communications act prohibits municipalities from refusing to allow towers based on health concerns, as long as they conform to other federal regulations, Wischnack said.

John Toop, director of business services for the Hopkins School District, said the school board approved the tower request without discussion as part of its consent agenda at its Jan. 24 meeting. It is the third such tower approved by the Hopkins District, which extends into parts of Minnetonka, Plymouth, Edina, St. Louis Park and Golden Valley.

They generate similar income, which in the context of an $82 million district budget is not significant, "but every little bit helps," Toop said. All three towers together would bring in an amount roughly equal to the salary of one teacher, he said.

T Mobile would have 24-hour-a-day access to the tower, which would be topped with six panel antennas covered with a shroud. The area around the tower would be fenced.

The city requires a conditional use permit for the tower because the zoning code limits their height to 75 feet. The council will decide the issue.