Cell tower lease could help well upgrade

Published 11:01 am Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Relocating a cell tower initially opposed by neighbors to city-owned land near the former Prairie Wood Products mill could also help the city address its water issues.

Income from the lease to U.S. Cellular could be used to help pay for upgrading one of the city’s main water wells, Mayor Jim Hamsher said.

“To me it’s a win-win — good cell coverage for Prairie City residents with a lease that provides income to the city,” he said.

The communication company’s request for a conditional-use permit for a cell tower was turned down Oct. 11 during a standing-room-only hearing at city hall.

U.S. Cellular wanted to join Verizon and AT&T as a local cellphone provider, but their choice for the 195-foot tall tower at 10th Street and Hall Avenue next to the school drew a number of concerned neighbors to the hour-long hearing. The city council unanimously voted to approve a U.S. Cellular tower if it could be located in the city’s industrial park.

Hamsher told the Eagle negotiations with U.S. Cellular have begun. In addition to being located on city property zoned industrial, the proposed tower will only be 70 feet high — less than half the height of the original proposal.

The city would like to use income from the cell tower lease to pay for an upgrade to one of the city’s water wells. Last June, a perfect storm ensued when lightning struck a power pole near the city’s No. 2 well, just as crews were in the process of TV-scanning the well casing.

Not only was work on the No. 2 well delayed, but damage to the city water system’s electrical controls led to the water level in the million-gallon reservoir dropping to only four feet during the summer, triggering water restrictions.

Hard water deposits had plugged perforations in the No. 2 well’s casing, which not only impeded water flow into the well but caused sand to be drawn into the pump’s impeller.

Work on the No. 2 well is complete now. Public Works Director Chris Camarena said the city had been running the pump as low as 50 gallons per minute, but now it’s up to 100 gpm.

“It’s back to normal,” he said.

The city would now like to upgrade its No. 3 well, which was engineered for an 800-foot depth but was only drilled to 400 feet. The city contracted with a well driller to deepen the No. 3 well on March 1, but the work hasn’t started yet, Hamsher said.

“It should be done before summer starts,” he said, adding that the cost of deepening an existing well should be much lower than for starting a new well.

Hamsher said there never would have been a need for water restrictions last summer if the lightning strike had not occurred.

“But this past winter was very dry,” he said. “We’re hopeful no water restrictions will be necessary this summer.”

He noted that the reservoir tank needs to be kept full in case of a fire in town.

Work on the city’s sewer system also will take place this summer and fall, funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan and a grant, Camarena said. Four lift pumps and several check valves will be replaced at the booster site and treatment plant, aging pipe in the forced main alongside Highway 26 will be replaced and leaking collector pipes on North Johnson Avenue and other sites around town will be replaced, he said.

The work will take place in late summer or fall because of high groundwater levels, Camarena said. How much additional work can be done will depend on how far the funding lasts, he said.

In other Prairie City news, Glenda Harvey has been hired to fill the city clerk’s position. Bobbie Brown is the city recorder.