Board extends Crown Castle cell-tower lease through 2050 for planned Middle/High School site

MONROE, N.C. — The Union County Board of Education approved an extension to a Crown Castle lease for a cellular tower located on a parcel associated with the planned Middle/High School D site in the Hemby Bridge area, extending the lease through 2050.

District staff presented the proposal and said Crown Castle had requested a 30-year extension to attract additional wireless tenants; the district negotiated an 18-year extension that would extend the lease until 2050. The current lease had been in place since February 2011 and was described by staff as set to expire in February 2032, which is why an 18-year negotiated extension reaches 2050.

Staff described financial and site details: the district currently receives $1,508 per month in base rent for the tower and also receives 20% of subtenant rents, which staff said totaled about $1,205. Under the new proposal, Crown Castle offered to increase the base monthly rent to about $2,000 and to provide a signing bonus, according to the staff memorandum presented at the meeting. The tower footprint is about 0.17 acres (roughly 10,000 square feet), the presenter said.

Board members asked how close the tower is to where a future middle/high school would be located. A district staff member, Mr. Moore, said he had preliminary schematic plans and that the tower is in the northernmost part of the property “near parking lots and some playing fields” rather than immediately adjacent to where classroom buildings would be placed. He estimated the tower location to be several hundred feet (“probably more than 400 to 500 feet”) from the designed school areas on the schematic he had viewed, but he said he could not confirm exact distances at the meeting without the final drawings.

Board members also asked whether an existing tower easement would transfer if the district sold the parcel in the future. Staff said the lease/easement would transfer with a property sale and that the new property owner would receive the rent payments. The presenter also said the Board of Education has not declared the property surplus and that there were no current long-range plans to build on that site.

A facilities committee had reviewed the recommendation; staff reported the committee approved the extension unanimously before the full board vote. A motion to approve the lease extension was moved and seconded; the full board approved the item by voice vote.

Ending — The board approved the lease extension, and staff will finalize contract language with Crown Castle. Staff noted that if the district later designs a school for the site, tower location and layout would factor into site design decisions and that any future sale would convey the lease to the buyer.