GTCO-ATL Asks Representative Drenner for her Support on Cell Tower Referendum

Note:  One of the problems we had with the non-binding advisory referendum on the July 2012 ballot was that it would do nothing for us in terms of stopping the cell towers.  And, knowing that it was a suggestion made by the lobbyists who wanted to stop the bill to ban the towers (which they were able to kill in committee during the last session) made us even more wary of the intentions behind it.  

Perhaps it was more of an overconfident telecom industry expecting that the vote would go their way, especially since the wording on the question appeared intentionally misleading and vague.  Maybe they wanted to identify the districts that were still unaware of the dangers and might be more likely to approve a tower or not have concerns.  We did not want to see a ballot measure actually harm more communities by inviting cell tower companies to prey on them.  But, we did not have a choice.  

The referendum went forward and, to our surprise and relief, the voters in DeKalb showed up at the polls and understood exactly what they needed to do.

More than 75,000 people voted "NO" across the county by a margin of 62%.  That was the largest victory margin on the entire ballot, with the exception of the unopposed candidates and the exception of Rep. Hank Johnson, who also supports our efforts and even contacted us to communicate his concerns.  

So, we reported the results to the board, in front of the new Interim Superintendent Thurmond, and we asked them to approve a resolution against this practice in order to put the issue to rest.  It would go a long way toward helping restore trust in the county, but the board has yet to respond.  

In the email below, sent yesterday, we reached out to Rep. Dr. Karla Drenner, the author of the state and local bills that were killed in committees last session that would have banned the towers from school grounds.  Drenner negotiated the referendum item after the legislative session ended and was able to get it onto the July 2012 ballot along with the school board election.  That made the issue a campaign issue and all the seated board members who were elected at that time have stated at public forums they planned to vote 'no' on the cell tower item.  So, why won't they agree to sign a resolution now?  

We hope Rep. Drenner will write to the DeKalb BOE and their new employee, Michael Thurmond, and lend her support for a board resolution to ban the towers.  We have been told many times that the issue is one that the school board needs to decide for themselves and we should urge our board members to make their own policy on the issue.  

So, let's put these public officials to the test and see if we can take them at their word.  Will Rep. Drenner urge Superintendent Thurmond to place our resolution on an upcoming meeting agenda so the board can take a vote? Will the board vote the way they said they would during their campaigning, or have we once again been duped by empty promises and dirty politics?  

We will keep you posted here.  If you would like to help, you can also email Superintendent Thurmond and ask for him to place the "Get the Cell Out Resolution" on an upcoming agenda so that it can be voted on by the board.  Or, if he is aware of any educational purposes these towers are intended to serve, will he please include the public as is required by the board policy on public notification and input.  To date, no educational purpose has been identified and the T-mobile contracts have expired without Special Land Use Permits being issued.  The only outstanding contract still potentially in effect is the one for Lakeside High School, but it remains unsigned by T-mobile.  And, T-mobile no longer has a tower division that can sign.  

Is the cell tower debacle finally over?  Or are we just beginning a much bigger fight with the citizens of DeKalb facing off against their own elected leaders?  Will this be the straw to break the camel's back and lead to a recall?  

We don't want to go there.  But, if we have to, we will.  

From: Get the Cell Out - ATL
Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 1:10 PM
To: Rep. Karla Drenner
Cc: Viola Davis; michael_thurmond@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us; Marshall Orson; pam_speaks@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us; Jim McMahan; jim_mcmahan@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us
Subject: Cell Tower Referendum / Resolution

Dear Rep. Dr. Drenner,

At the February DeKalb County School Board meeting, during public comments, I presented to the Board of Education the results of the July 2012 ballot referendum question on cell towers.  As I am sure you recall, we had 62% of the voters who said they did  not approve of the practice of placing or operating cell towers on school grounds.  

In an attempt to make peace with the school board and test their current vows to change for the better, we offered a resolution to them that would make it their policy not to review or approve any future contracts for cell towers, unless they are proven safe for operation so close to homes or children.  (Text is at the end of this email.)  

We presented the resolution in hopes the board would place it on their consent agenda that same night, but it was the first official public meeting in which Interim Superintendent Thurmond was present.  We are not sure he knows the history of this volatile issue here and may not have appreciated the urgency by which this resolution is needed.  It could go a long way toward helping him in his mission to restore trust and save the accreditation since it would assist in proving the board has made progress on the first two items on the list from SACS.

If you still support this cause, could we please call upon you to ask Mr. Thurmond to give our resolution some consideration at the next meeting in which it can be voted upon?  I am sure he appreciates your input and experience and would benefit from knowing that you sponsored the legislation for the advisory referendum after the bill to ban the towers was killed.  I'm not sure he understands that the referendum was intended by the public as a way to let the school system know exactly how we feel.  

Thank you, Dr. Drenner, for any suggestions or help you may be willing to provide.  If you hear anything, please let me know.  We would love to have good news and progress on this topic that we could report on our website. 

Kind regards,

Get the Cell Out - ATL

(text of referendum inserted here)