(The following article by Michelle L. Quinn appeared on the Post-Tribune website on May 14, 2009).
SCHERERVILLE, Ill. — Two communication towers to be installed by Norfolk Southern Railroad have the Town Council looking into ways — however futile — to have them moved.
The towers — a 165-foot tall one that will be installed in the vicinity of the Briar Ridge and Plum Creek subdivisions to the north; the other by Hammond Baptist High School to the south at 199 feet tall — will be close to residential areas, Town Manager Bob Volkmann told the council Wednesday. The railroad, however, has already made it clear to the town that it has federal authority to place the towers where it wants with or without the town’s permission, though it did pay permit fees to the town.
“(The representative I dealt with) told me a story of how he just installed a tower right in the middle of a Civil War battleground in Virginia,” Volkmann said. “Seventeen local and federal agencies got involved and yet the tower is still there.
“They volunteer to pay the permit fees, but they do not yield to town regulations or relocation.”
Councilman Hal Slager, who lives in the area of one of the towers, asked whether Norfolk Southern gave reasons as to why the towers had to go where they’re being placed. Volkmann said the railroad spent money on its own studies so it likely felt no compunction to take any suggestions from the town.
“Their memo of law — that’s how they started the dialogue,” Town Attorney Dave Austgen said.
Slager said he was confident residents in Plum Creek will be up in arms when they hear about the tower and called for a meeting with Norfolk Southern representatives to see what can be done. The council instructed Austgen to write a resolution the way the transaction has been handled and to look up any recourse.
The town has not cashed the checks the railroad paid for the permit fees, nor does it plan to, Volkmann said.
In other business, the council voted 3-2, with Councilmen Tom Schmitt and Rob Gutzloff dissenting, to approve an increase to park shelter rental fees on second reading. Schmitt asked to defer the motion for a couple weeks so he could review documentation submitted by Park Superintendent John Novacich regarding the costs other towns have implemented; Guetzloff objected to raising the fees at a time when the economy is still shaky.