SNOW HILL — The town of Snow Hill is joining a growing list of government entities that are taking advantage of one big and tall asset — their water towers.
It’s just what cell phone and Internet companies are seeking to place their equipment on without having to build their own costly towers.
About a month ago, U.S. Cellular asked the town about leasing space on its water tower on Kingold Boulevard. The cell phone carrier provided a proposed contract with a monthly lease of $1,100, Town Administrator Dana Hill said.
Hill said the town is required, according to its tower maintenance contract with Utility Service Group, to include Utility Service in its process of designs and installation on its two town-owned towers, or the maintenance warranty will be void.
The maintenance company offers a service to negotiate lease terms, monthly payments and installation of antennas, as well as market the space available.
“Their fee for providing that service is 30 percent of the agreed-upon lease price,” Hill told the Board of Commissioners Monday night. “I feel like that’s probably a fair deal.”
He said the company says it can negotiate a price that’s probably at least 30 percent more than the proposed price.
Hill said U.S. Cellular’s proposed monthly lease price is “extremely low,” according to market standards.
The board voted unanimously to contract with Utility Service, and agreed to have the new wireless communications management contract run concurrently with the utility maintenance contract they already have. Hill said the reason is in case the town decides not to renew the maintenance contract, so “we wouldn’t be tied to them for any other reason.”
Commissioner Becky Scarborough asked if there is a possibility of leasing space on both water towers — a second tower is located on N.C. 258, just south of N.C. 58 in the vicinity of Ham’s Produce.
“I think we could probably take advantage of both tanks being in here,” Hill said about the contract, adding that it probably wouldn’t be the same wireless carrier leasing on both towers.
Utility Service claims in its promotional materials it negotiates at the corporate level to protect the interests of its contracted tank owners.
There are no other fees or up-front costs — only the 30 percent of the monthly payments once a lease contract is established.
Utility Service oversees antenna installations to ensure it meets OSHA and industry standards. It also performs a structural analysis of the tanks, provides a site safety plan to carriers and manages billing, collections and reporting.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
