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Council OKs Bangert Park Cell Tower, Will Fly Missouri Flag
By Carol Arnett
The Florissant City council voted Monday to allow another cell phone tower in Bangert Park. The tower will be a flag pole tower, like the existing tower. It will fly a Missouri flag.
Councilman Andrew Podleski voted against the tower. “I don’t think this is a good use of park property,” he said. He added that the landscaping around the existing tower was looking bad, with dead trees and bushes.
“You can drive around the city and look at the towers,” he said. “They always say they’ll put in landscaping, but they don’t maintain it.”
“There’s already a tower there,” said Councilman Keith Schildroth. “The current tower is well-maintained.” Schildroth added that the flag on the current tower is replaced whenever it starts to look bad.
“The administration worked hard for this,” Schildroth said. He noted that the contract paid the city well.
“Flag pole towers are nice,” said Councilwoman Karen McKay. “I’m not crazy about cell towers in parks, but they have worked with us on the aesthetics,” she said.
“This is a win-win situation,” McKay said. She noted that the city cannot ban cell phone towers. “They’ll put them in elsewhere,” she said. “This way, we can assure the maintenance.”
Mayor Robert Lowery agreed. He said, in this case, that the tower owner would put the tower on the property of the nursing home across the street from the park if it couldn’t get in the park. Lowery said that by having the tower on city property, the city can make sure it is maintained and make some money, also.
The bill passed, with Podleski casting the only no vote.
In other action, Lowery announced that the city was seeking bids for the next phase of the Lindbergh Boulevard enhancement project. This phase will take the project from the Charbonier / Washington intersection to New Halls Ferry Road.
Lowery also praised the neighborhood watch groups and alert residents in the city. He cited two recent examples where alert residents called the police, resulting in the apprehension of suspects. In the first situation, a bank was held up. “If not for the citizens, the suspect probably would not have been apprehended,” Lowery said.
In the second situation, three people were breaking into empty houses to take copper from them. After a citizen called police about suspicious activity, the suspects were arrested.
