11/19/12 - Two cellular tower management companies are offering money to the Howell School District to extend the lease on the cell tower located on its high school campus. The district has nine years left on the towerâs current lease, which was signed in 1996 and provides the district with about $28,000 each year. Even though the lease has not yet expired the district has received offers from tower management companies American Tower and Tri-Star to extend the lease through 2041. Associate Superintendent Rick Terres presented the plans to the school board last week, and he says it is in the districtâs best interest to look at the offers now before any unforeseen changes in technology render the tower worthless. The two offers from American Tower included a substantial one-time payoff to take control of the tower, but both had projected returns to the district of less than a million dollars over the course of the new lease. All three of the Tri-Star offers had projected payoffs of more than $1.5 million, and last night Terres recommended an offer that included a down payment and a significant share of the profits made from telecommunications companies that rent space on the tower. Its total estimated value to the district would be about $1.77 million. No action was taken on the offer at last weekâs meeting. (TD)
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