The Lake Forest City Council has approved negotiations to start with a private firm to build a 160-foot cell tower at the city’s compost center, a step aimed at improving wireless coverage but also drawing concerns over revenue loss and whether the city’s wireless issues will be completely solved.
The council voted 7–0 on Nov. 3 to authorize the city attorney and staff to begin contract talks with TowerNorth, a wireless infrastructure company proposing construction of a tower at 1381 Kennedy Road. Alderwoman Alice LeVert, 3rd abstained citing her employment.
TowerNorth is proposing that it would own the tower and lease space to wireless carriers. The city currently hosts antenna equipment on a nearby municipal water tower at the same site.
City officials said the new tower could help address persistent coverage complaints, particularly in the 4th Ward, which encompasses the southwestern portion of the city.
“Coverage would be improved, certainly in the vicinity of Route 60 and Waukegan Road,” Community Development Director Catherine Czerniak told the City Council.
TowerNorth has nonbinding letters of intent from AT&T and T-Mobile — both of which already lease antenna space from the city — as well as Verizon, which does not currently have equipment at the site.
“The main benefit is to put in one more puzzle piece that will help the goal you have identified in enhancing wireless service in the community,” Czerniak said to the City Council.
The company was one of two bidders, and city staff determined its proposal was superior, Czerniak said. Yet she cautioned a new tower would not fully resolve coverage gaps.
“We do not believe this will fully address the deficiencies and coverage issues in the 4th Ward,” she said.
TowerNorth’s initial proposal includes a $125,000 upfront payment to the city and a revenue-sharing agreement that would provide roughly 30% of future lease income.
Currently, AT&T and T-Mobile pay a combined $200,000 annually to lease space on the city’s water tower. Some council members expressed concern about potentially losing that revenue stream, but City Manager Jason Wicha said officials hope to negotiate more favorable terms.
Czerniak added that AT&T recently approached the city seeking to renegotiate its lease, saying its current rate is “out of market” for the area. An AT&T spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing negotiations. Czerniak said the city has not received a similar request from T-Mobile.
Discussion of improved wireless coverage began last year when Mayor Stanford “Randy” Tack publicly raised concerns about service gaps. The issue drew large crowds to two plan commission meetings, where residents debated the need for expanded coverage versus concerns about aesthetics — particularly regarding a proposed tower near the Telegraph Road train station.
The commission ultimately recommended against construction of a new tower at the train station site but supported the compost center location. The City Council later tabled the process to commission a citywide wireless coverage study, which last July confirmed service deficiencies in parts of Lake Forest.
City officials hope to present a negotiated contract to the council before the year’s end, though Czerniak noted the meeting schedule is limited. If approved, she estimated tower construction would take an estimated nine months.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
