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Cudjoe
Tower tries to Sneak in Side Door
Let your county commissioners know we don't want that
door open. Contact them, and attend BOCC meeting June 16, 2:15PM,
Marathon Government Center As
reported in recent news
stories
(and
editorials), the Massachusetts company (IC&E) that wants to erect a
970-foot communications tower (topped by one if not two enclosed
structures the size of a small house) on Cudjoe Key is asking Monroe
County to accept a "settlement offer", rather than accept whatever
decision the federal appeals court makes in IC&E's pending case against
Monroe County for not letting them build their monster tower.
(Background: the county has won twice already; once in local court, once
in federal. A federal appeal is being heard.)
The "settlement" IC&E is asking the County Commission to
bite on is this: that the county simply let the tower be built,
i.e. roll over and play dead, regardless of having already won (twice)
in court. As reported in the
articles linked above, the letter sent to the county by IC&E's attorney
cited an "endorsement" of the Cudjoe tower by the Sheriff. Wrong.
That claim was disproved two years ago, and again recently by the
Citizen reporter who wrote the story. The Sheriff does not
endorse the tower. IC&E's letter to
the county plays the "homeland security" card, saying that if IC&E's
970-foot tower is built, the Coast Guard won't have to build a
1,500-foot tower on Saddlebunch Key. Wrong again... as
reported in the news story... the Coast Guard is no longer seeking
to build a 1,500 foot tower in the Keys. This has been
recently confirmed by the Environmental Manager for the Coast Guard's
Rescue 21 program in DC. Special environmental concerns
and hurricane vulnerability already convinced them they should use a
number of shorter towers for their modernized radio system in the Keys,
rather than put all their communications eggs in one basket. The
CG Enviro Manager says they probably will build a tower on the Navy's
Saddlebunch Key site, but indicated it would be much
shorter than 1,500', and would be a non-guyed tower, which lessens the
hazard to birds. (IC&E's tower would be held up by about 5 miles
of guywires.) So... the 1,500-foot
Coast Guard tower IC&E is trying the scare us with doesn't exist!
Please visit, call, fax, or email all five county
commissioners, and let them know we are as opposed to the monster tower
as ever, and that they should not consider the settlement offer.
Contact information for County Commissioners can be
found linked from the Home Page of the county's website:
http://www.co.monroe.fl.us/ (click on BOCC on menu, or individual
commissioners) |
