Parents Group Opposes Proposed Cell Tower

A group of concerned parents are planning their next move in opposition to a cell phone tower proposed to be built close to the Houghton Elementary School.

Organizer Kristina Sundstrom says she only recently learned of the school’s plans to lease a plot of land to Verizon.

According to information presented at a community meeting held in Houghton on Sunday, the plans include a 75 foot tower about 300 feet from the school.

The group wants the cell tower built at least 1,500 feet from the school but the lease process is already underway, meaning Sundrstrom and the other parents may be too late to stop it.

Sundstrom said, “I just feel that parents weren’t notified and if parents were notified prior to this, we would have voiced our opinions sooner. I feel the transparency just, it’s kind of a grey area.”

Studies have not definitively established a link between cell towers and health problems, but that’s a risk Sundstrom and the other parents are not willing to take.

Sundstrom said, “The message I would like to get across to the school board is that there are parents in opposition to this. We do not want to risk the health and safety of our children for a small amount of money.”

School Superintendent Doreen Klingbiel says the Houghton-Portage Township School Board is currently exploring all possible options concerning the cell tower and they are waiting to hear what options may or may not be available.