Cedar Rapids keeps park free of cell tower

Cedar Rapids City Hall has turned its back on $9,000 a year in lease revenue that it has been offered to permit a cellphone company to erect the first cell tower in a Cedar Rapids city park.

City leaders got some help in making their decision.

Neighbors around Shawnee Park, a 20-acre park at 1101 19th St. NW, collected signatures on a petition to object to a plan to put a monopole cell tower at the highest point in the park.

Cell company i wireless informed park neighbors of its intent to seek city permission to place a cell tower in the park, which prompted the neighborhood response.

Julie Sina, the city's parks and recreation director, said this week that she recommended to City Manager Jeff Pomeranz that the city deny the I wireless request, a recommendation that Pomeranz agreed with.

In a letter to neighbors, Daniel Gibbins, the city's parks superintendent, notes that the “neighborhood feedback” prompted the city to deny the request to put a cell tower in the park.

“I want to thank those who took the time and effort to communicate how you value the park,” Gibbins states in the letter.

Sina noted that none of the city's parks is home to a cell tower.