Henry Hudson board tables proposal for cell tower on school property after community concerns

The Henry Hudson Regional PK-12 Board of Education's Finance & Facilities Committee voted to table a proposal to place a monopole/cell tower on district property after community members raised concerns about the plan.

The committee's report, delivered at the Oct. 15 regular meeting, said FDS Enterprises, LLC provided an overview of the possibility of constructing a monopole/cell tower on school property. Mrs. Suzanne Thomas, reporting for the Finance & Facilities Committee, said the committee unanimously chose to table the proposal pending further evaluation and community input.

Board President Richard Colangelo told public commenters that the cell-tower option was not being moved forward at this time. "The cell phone tower is no longer a consideration," Colangelo said during the public-comment exchange. Parent and resident Chelsea McKaus had asked whether the district knows of an alternative property under consideration; Colangelo said the board does not currently have that information.

Several public commenters thanked the board for tabling the item. Audience members including Mark Bulboss and others who spoke during the public-comment period expressed relief that the committee had not advanced the plan.

Board discussion noted the Finance & Facilities Committee was charged with evaluating the project and would continue study; Ms. Melnyk cautioned the tabling decision did not mean the proposal was permanently dead, saying it had been "tabled but is not dead in the water." No formal motion to approve construction was made at the meeting.

Next steps: the committee will retain responsibility for further evaluation and community outreach. The board later entered an executive session; no final public action on the monopole proposal was announced when the meeting resumed.