T-Mobile Application Hearing Continues With Cross Examination

Including Monday night's Board of Adjustment meeting an application by T-Mobile to construct a 120 foot monopole on the Christ Church of Freehold property has been heard four times this year alone. 

Monday's meeting was a chance for an attorney representing residents near the Oak Glen Rd. property to cross examine a witness brought forward by the communications company. The witness, Lyle Petrasek was questioned mostly on the decision to erect the pole at that location rather than others in the area. 

During the cross examination of Petrasek the lawyer Edward Liston asked about other properties that had been looked at. Petrasek said he had worked with Declan O'Scanlon the township's municipal consultant who identified two possible properties. One is a water tower near the current town hall and the other is a tower on Route 9. 

Liston asked for O'Scanlon's qualifications as a wireless consultant to which Petrasek said he was not sure but he had "been around the industry," to which liston responded, "I've been around the industry as an objector's attorney to many many many cell towers. That doesn't mean that I'm qualified the way he should be."

One other area of questioning for Petrasek was properties not owned or leased by the township that could have been used. The witness said he had looked at "multiple properties," and tried to contact them either in person or by mail. Of those properties only one responded. That property was identified as 14 Maxim Rd. by Petrasek. 

When asked to identify all the other properties he had looked at Petrasek said he could not do that. "Looking at a property and considering it, I spend no time on it until I know that the landlord is interested," he said. 

Petrasek said T-Mobile directed him to find a location in the area for a tower but had not given him a direct property to find. The church location, he said, was "a little east of where they wanted to be," but was still in the general vicinity.

In the end, he said the decision on whether to pursue the church property or the Maxim Rd. property was made by T-Mobile and not by him. "They kind of liked it, but they liked this one better," he said of the church property being chosen. 

The last of three witnesses called on Monday night was Gary Musciano, an architect who had already testified and took questions from the public. Michelle Escribano, a resident of Maxim Rd. asked Musciano about the impact the project would have on flooding in the area.

Escribano said she lives adjacent to the church on a lower slope from the church and wanted to know what it would do to her property and others near her. "One thing I can tell you is our total coverage with our concrete pad for the cabinets and the monopole is about 120 square feet," Musciano said. That compares to a parking space which he said is 200 square feet. 

Musciano said that because there was no work being done on the grading and only a small increase in paving it should not have an impact on flooding either way. "If there is a problem now or some problem occurred between the time the church was built and now that may be one situation but I can't see how our contribution of 117 square feet would make any difference to what the situation is now."

While there was no decision reached on Monday there was agreement to hold a special meeting on the application with the hopes of bringing it to a conclusion either way. The decision was made to tentatively set the meeting for June 18 but that will be firmed up at the board's June 11 meeting