Residents met with representatives of T-Mobile, the telecommunications giant, on Wednesday, March 9, at the North Merrick Library to discuss, for a second time, a proposal to install a cell tower inside a 50-foot flagpole at the library.
   
“Some people were adamantly opposed to the proposal,” Claudia Borecky, president of the North and Central Merrick Civic Association, told Merrick Life after the meeting. “But there were others who felt that it has to go somewhere and didn’t object to the cell tower.”
   
Library Director Tom Witt agreed. “There were several people who privately told me they were really for it. But there were, I think, three people who were very vocal [in opposition].”
   
According to Ms. Borecky, T-Mobile representatives, armed with charts,  claimed the cell tower was needed to cover gaps in coverage. “It really isn’t gaps in coverage so much as less reliable service,” she said.
   
“I asked the four reps if they had their T-Mobile phones and could they show us just how unreliable the coverage was. But they claimed not to have their cell phones with them.”
   
Residents wondered if there was a less-intrusive location, including somewhere along the Meadowbrook Parkway.
   
“It seems there is a plan to place a cell tower on state highway property at Southern State Parkway and Meadowbrook Road,” said Ms. Borecky.
   
“But T-Mobile claims the area of coverage [for the pole] at the North Merrick Library is different than the one further north,” she added.
   
One resident suggested that the proposal to erect the cell tower at the library be placed on the ballot and put to a vote,  Ms. Borecky reported.
   
The library could earn $24,000 a year from T-Mobile, said Mr. Witt. He added that the issue was placed on the agenda for the library board meeting to be held on Tuesday, March 22. “We will discuss it and see how the board feels,” explained Mr. Witt.
   
“Board President Bill Pezzullo and board member Mark Davis were at the meeting, so they could hear for themselves how the community may feel about the proposal.”
   
Additionally, the North and Central Merrick Civic Association is conducting a survey on this issue. If you’d like to participate, you can go to its website at www.northmerrickcivic.org.
   
In other news, there has been an official name change of the North Merrick Civic Association to the North and Central Merrick Civic Association, to better reflect its members who live from Sunrise Highway to North Jerusalem Road and Meadowbrook Parkway to the Bellmore border, with the exception of the Merrick Park Home Owners and Wenshaw Park Civic Associations.

By Laura Schofer

Laura Schofer, staff writer for L&M Publications, has been recognized with several awards for many of her feature pieces published in Bellmore and Merrick Life, The Citizen and The Leader.