Brightwaters Village mulls cellphone tower

The Brightwaters Village board of trustees might consider erecting a cellphone tower on village-owned land, hoping to net as much as $12 million for the village over 50 years.

The board discussed the proposal at its Wednesday night meeting, which was attended by three residents. The proposal, which village officials said is in its infancy, would allow Elite Towers, a Deer Park-based telecommunications company, to erect a 100-foot tower in Gilbert Park. The company would pay $100,000 to erect the tower and enter into a 50-year lease with the village.

Mayor Joseph A. McNulty and other trustees said if they move forward with the plan it would get a public vetting.

Joseph A. "Jody" McNulty III, a member of the village's board of appeals and the mayor's son, who presented the proposal to the board, said he first brought the idea to his father and then engaged several companies. He said he ultimately continued talks with Elite Towers because the company had a demonstrated need.

"Their clients needed coverage in this area," Jody McNulty told the board.

Representatives from Elite Towers didn't respond to requests for comment.

Trustee John J. Riordan expressed some trepidation with the idea.

"I'm a little nervous," Riordan said. "It's a significant undertaking . . . We have a responsibility to look after the best interest of all the residents."

In other business, the board voted unanimously on a resolution prohibiting "the use or possession" of alcoholic beverages in all three of the village's public parks. The mayor said he considered the resolution a technicality because the village has always prohibited alcohol in parks through posted signs, but didn't have a law on the books. The board didn't hold a public hearing on the resolution and signed a "certificate of necessity," which village attorney John P. Finnerty said allows the village to bypass the normal process because of the urgency of an issue.