Wireless Estimator, Craig Lekutis’ online source for things aerial, had an article on BMB Communication Management’s attempt to build a 1,500 foot broadcast tower on property purchase from McHenry County College.
The problem, Lekutis summarizes, was that John Maguire’s “persuasive powers that worked with college officials couldn’t sway the FAA.”
Remember the 1,500-foot broadcast town which was to bring McHenry County College $6 million?
McHenry County Blog broke the story March 1, 2008, that the MCC board was being approached by BMB Communications Management’s John Maguire to build a broadcast tower.
That was the meeting during which former MCC President Walt Packard to keep me from taking more pictures through the wire mesh safety windows of the board room. They wrapped the room in plastic.
The MCC Board also broke the Open Meetings Law by forcing taxpayers and media out of the building before it was over.
Eleven months later (Feb. 2, 2008), BMB issued a press release announcing it wanted to build a 1,500-foot tower on college property, MCC would get $6 million for 3.6 acres, the release said. (Note, the college did not issue the press release; the company wanting to lease the land did.)
How high is 1,500 feet?Taller that the Sears, oops, Willis Tower, which tops out at 1,450 feet. You can see the height of the Eiffel Tower and the existing 300-foot FM aerial superimposed above on Chicago’s skyline.
Tonight at the MCC board meeting, after suggesting the board might want to go into secret session to discuss real estate, the board, in open meeting, heard that local BMB attorney Tom Zanck had called with regard to that broadcast tower.
Zanck conveyed the information that BMB’s tower experts had determined that the FAA would likely not approve of what BMB had proposed.
Similar information has reached my ears from local pilots.
“It is likely, according to their experts, that the FAA would not approve the tower as proposed.”
The attorney said the board could use due diligence to ask BMB’s experts to provide greater clarification.
“If you do nothing, Zanck can exercise (a clause to get out of the deal.”
“We knew going into this (was unlikely to be approved),” board member Barbara Walter said. “There is no sense in going on. I’d just let them out.”
When she added,
she drew laughter in the room.
“Let them do their thing and let them out of it,” Board President George Lowe added.
Later in the hall, Lowe said that the tower he had seen in Oklahoma had three television broadcast towers. Previously, Maguire had only talked about one.
I remember the chastisement I received in an email for showing a collapsed broadcast tower whose image had been projected on the McHenry County College Conference Center screen.
BMB Communications Management spokesman John Maguire said I should have used a picture of the “first to yield” collapse. That’s when the stoutly constructed bottom section does not collapse, but higher portions do.
Such design, his engineer said, does not result in a flat out failure where the tower would lay out its entire length.
Well, maybe.
But, that’s not what happened in Wichita, Kansas, with a KYQQ-FM 1,204 foot broadcast tower the end of last month in heavy icing and strong winds.
It looks like a failure of the complete structure to me. Doesn’t the complete tower seem to be snaking across the grass.
What do you think?Two inches of ice is what the FM station spokesman told KFDI-TV, from whose video these pictures came.
If you want to see photos, here are some.
Video is here.
Route 14, Ridgefield Road and the Union Pacific railroad tracks are all within 1,500 feet of the BMB tower site.
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I asked before I posted this whether this tower was held up with guy wires, but didn’t get an answer until after it went up.
The answer is that this is a guyed wire tower, not a free standing one as BMB proposes in Crystal Lake.
Isn’t that special?Couldn’t wait until the regular meeting on March 26th.
I just chanced upon the special meeting notice, which you can see below:
Here’s the recommendation:
McHenry County College Board Report #09-49
Special Board Meeting March 12, 2009
Proposal to Sell Approximately
3.67 Acres of MCC Real Estate
Information:
At the Special Board Meeting of February 18, 2009, the Board of Trustees heard a presentation by Mr. John Maguire on behalf of BMB Communications Management, LLC, regarding a proposal to purchase approximately 3.67 acres of McHenry County College real estate for the purpose of constructing a 1,500 foot communications tower. A proposed purchase contract outlining the terms and provisions of the purchase was provided to the Board and made available to the public.
At the request of members of the Board of Trustees, the item is back on the Board’s agenda for consideration, along with a revised final purchase contract, a copy of which is attached. Mr. Maguire is unable to attend the March 12 Special Board Meeting. However, Mr. Tom Zanck, Attorney for BMB Communications Management, has a copy of the contract signed by Mr. Maguire and will be at the Special Board Meeting to address questions from the Board of Trustees.
The specific revisions in the proposed final purchase contract include:
1.All references to charitable contributions being made to MCC, the Foundation, or other charities designated by MCC have been revised to delete the Foundation and alternate charities. The contract now provides that the contributions will be made to McHenry County College District No. 528. Please refer to page 2, paragraphs 2a and 2b of the attached revised final purchase contract.2.Mr. Maguire has agreed to make a non-refundable initial deposit of $2,500 for the first six months during which time he will petition for approval of the communications tower construction at the project site by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Mr. Maguire believes he will know within six months whether or not the FAA will approve the project site. In the previous version of the contract, all deposits were refundable if the project were cancelled within four, six-month periods (24 months total). Please refer to page 5, paragraph 9f of the attached revised final purchase contract.
An additional consideration is that Illinois Compiled Statutes, specifically 110 ILCS 805/3-41, provide authority for the Board of Trustees
“To sell at private or public sale any personal or real property belonging to the district and not needed for community college purposes.”
It is, therefore, incumbent upon the Board to determine that the subject acres of real estate are not needed for College purposes.
Recommendation:
If the Board of Trustees believes the approximately 3.67 acres of real estate identified in the purchase contract is not needed for community college purposes and it is in the best interest of McHenry County College to sell those acres of MCC real estate to BMB Communications Management, LLC, according to the terms and provisions of the attached purchase contract, it is recommended that the Board
1) affirms a finding that the approximately 3.67 acres of real estate provided for in the purchase contract are not needed for community college purposes, specifically for McHenry County College purposes;2) approves the sale of the specified acres of real estate to BMB Communications Management, LLC; and 3) authorizes the Chair and Secretary, on behalf of McHenry County College District No. 528, to sign the purchase contract previously signed by Mr. Maguire.
Brian Sager, Ph.D.
Acting President
You can find the revised contract here.
So far there has been no evidence that the college board or officials have done any due diligence besides liability from the construction and potential (but unlikely) collapse of the tower.
There is no evidence that any outside expert in the radio tower business has been consulted to determine if the price offered is as much as could be expected.
I repeat, the junior college is willing to release no reports or analysis about this project beyond the memo above and the report from its risk management consultant.
Under the Freedom of Information Act, I requested
The answer?
You get nothing.
The excuse listed are Section7, paragraphs 1(f) and (s) of the Freedom of Information Act.
I can sue in circuit court, if I wish.
That’s what McHenry County College President Walt Packard writes.
So all that is on the public record is the contract proposed by BMB and a letter from a risk management firm.
There is no indication whatsoever that any expert in the broadcast tower business was consulted to advise whether $6 million was a good or bad price for the property that John Macquire wants to build.
The college is following in the muddy footsteps of its poorly analyzed minor league baseball stadium.
Officials do not have the expertize to analyze the proposal themselves and apparently refuse to hire someone to advise them who might.
Or, maybe they did hire such a antenna business consultant and just won’t tell us.
And, just in case you are interested what those two little exemption paragraphs are, read on
Section 7. Exemptions.(
f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.(s) The records, documents and information relating to real estate purchase negotiations until those negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated. With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents and information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents and information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt until a sale is consummated.
So much at the junior college is top secret, hush-hush. I wonder if any of those privy to it ever had a Top Secret clearance.
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The towers you see above were supplied at the BMB Communications Management presentation to the public and the MCC Board on Wednesday, February 18, 2009. The one at the left is blowing in a 40 mile per hour wind. The one to the left isn’t.
The McHenry County College agenda for its Committee of the Whole meeting last night was amended before the meeting really got started.
Board Chairwoman Mary Miller announced that MCC attorney Sandy Kerrick had been contacted by BMB Communications Management, which had asked that discussion of its proposal to purchase 3.6 acres of land be delayed.
So much for the rapid approval that I expected to happen at Thursday’s regular meeting, I guess.
If there is great community interest, it certainly did not show itself Monday night. I was the only one to offer public comment. No pilots appeared.
There were two points:
First, the college should show constituents what the tower will look like during the day and the night. Let us see what red and white strobe lights will look like running up and down the 1,500 foot tower during the day and at night.Surely there is a similar tower someone can video and provide the college. That’s pretty much what I said to promoter John Maguire in my email last weekend.
Secondly, the college should hire an expert in broadcast tower finances since no one on the board has that expertise. I asked if the board were certain that the site wasn’t worth $30 million, pointing out that the college had refused to provide any evidence that anyone had done due diligence on the financial end of the deal.
Guess the next move is up to BMB.
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The views of the proposed BMB tower above show it bending in the wind on the left and standing upright on the right. A picture of the Eiffel Tower has be laid in next to the radio broadcast towers now adjacent to McHenry County College. The 1,500 foot BMB tower will be 41% higher than the Eiffel Tower. Unlike the Eiffel Tower, there will be no public elevator or observation deck.
The McHenry County College agenda for its Committee of the Whole meeting last night was amended before the meeting really got started.
Board Chairwoman Mary Miller announced that MCC attorney Sandy Kerrick had been contacted by BMB Communications Management, which had asked that discussion of its proposal to purchase 3.6 acres of land be delayed.
So much for the rapid approval that I expected to happen at Thursday’s regular meeting, I guess.
If there is great community interest, it certainly did not show itself Monday night. I was the only one to offer public comment. No pilots appeared.
There were two points:
First, the college should show constituents what the tower will look like during the day and the night. Let us see what red and white strobe lights will look like running up and down the 1,500 foot tower during the day and at night.Surely there is a similar tower someone can video and provide the college. That’s pretty much what I said to promoter John Maguire in my email last weekend.
Secondly, the college should hire an expert in broadcast tower finances since no one on the board has that expertise. I asked if the board were certain that the site wasn’t worth $30 million, pointing out that the college had refused to provide any evidence that anyone had done due diligence on the financial end of the deal.
Guess the next move is up to BMB.
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The views of the proposed BMB tower above show it bending in the wind on the left and standing upright on the right. A picture of the Eiffel Tower has be laid in next to the radio broadcast towers now adjacent to McHenry County College. The 1,500 foot BMB tower will be 41% higher than the Eiffel Tower. Unlike the Eiffel Tower, there will be no public elevator or observation deck.
Chicago media didn’t notice on their own, even though the Chicago Tribune sent a reporter for a while to the BMB Communications Management presentation of its proposal to build a 1,500 foot free standing broadcast radio and TV tower.
Saturday night, ABC Channel 7 ran a short story http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=274044&src=4 that, having seen the AP story in the Daily Herald Sunday, I’d guess was its source.
The Northwest Herald also ran a front page story with more information from the Wednesday meeting.
I still this McHenry County Blog’s article http://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2009/02/mega-tower-details-presented-to-public.html is the most complete.
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The woman in the photo is a Tribune reporter interviewing BMB Communications Management spokesman John Maguire before last Wednesday’s McHenry County College Board meeting.
There is another board meeting tonight at MCC at 6 PM.
Chicago media didn’t notice on their own, even though the Chicago Tribune sent a reporter for a while to the BMB Communications Management presentation of its proposal to build a 1,500 foot free standing broadcast radio and TV tower.
Saturday night, ABC Channel 7 ran a short story http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=274044&src=4 that, having seen the AP story in the Daily Herald Sunday, I’d guess was its source.
The Northwest Herald also ran a front page story with more information from the Wednesday meeting.
I still this McHenry County Blog’s article http://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/2009/02/mega-tower-details-presented-to-public.html is the most complete.
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The woman in the photo is a Tribune reporter interviewing BMB Communications Management spokesman John Maguire before last Wednesday’s McHenry County College Board meeting.
There is another board meeting tonight at MCC at 6 PM.
I received an email from John Maguire, the BMB Communications Management spokesman.
He had specific objections, with my article about his presentation, including one which was a typo on my part that reversed his meaning.
That one was about BMB’s not being able to build its broadcast tower without the support of the Lake in the Hills Airport and local pilots. That has been corrected in the original article, but I have found it takes time for Google to update corrections I have made.
In my reply to Maguire I asked permission to print his email verbatim, which he refused to allow.
Hard to convey a guy’s position as well as he could in his own words, but my reply might give you some idea what he was talking about.
One of his biggest objections is that I only ran a photo his expert supplied of a total flat out failure of an antenna.
All of his other pictures of failed towers showed how the proposed tower would act, if it fell. So, here’s a couple of photos showing that the sturdily-built bottom part would remain intact, even if higher portions failed.
This “First to Yield Section Concept” exists on the Eiffel Tower.
My reply to John Maguire’s email:
Sorry you didn’t think the article was fair. I didn’t finish until after midnight and put in as many elements as I could. I am certain I had more than anyone else covering the meeting.I did think you answered the questions honestly, although I’m not sure all the relevant questions were asked. The college does not seem to have any level of expertise to match your own.
I am quite willing to post your email, if you give me permission, as I am any press releases you would like to issue.
I’ll be happy to put a photo of one or more of the breakaway towers in Mr. Jones’ presentation to illustrate your point that the tower won’t fall flat out, which I think was well made.
I do wonder about the Com Ed’s lines, but I figure, if that is a problem, Com Ed will take care of itself.
I thought the (lack of) radiation explanation was convincing, (although a subsequent question to me suggested that the full array of transmitters may increase it beyond what was explained).
I heard a T-Mobile expert talk about radiation and thought a cell tower might be more dangerous (not much) than yours. No one but (MCC Board member) Scott (Summers) brought radiation up and I thought the comments by the former soldier covered the point well.
One of the things I think you should provide is a video of a similar tower with lights blinking in daylight and night. I am not sure that the real thing will fade into the sky the way the rendering you presented does.
You caught a typo on the “with the pilots support.” I shall correct it.
re the salesman comment, I had dinner Saturday night with an excellent salesman. As I explained your approach, he told me all the best salesmen use that technique. I fear you took that as an insult that I most assuredly did not intend. I didn’t think the empathy you displayed was insincere and hope that it didn’t come across that way in my article.
The TV part was in because lots of folks without cable think they will get better reception. You made clear they would not unless the TV stations wanted to install a facility.
If MCC had the courage to tape or even record their meetings, I could link to that and your voice and those of your extremely qualified experts would be the primary sources.
Without that, my notes are all I have and I obviously couldn’t take full notes and take 90 pictures at the same time (so many were needed, because the college board will not let me use a flash).
So, may I reprint your email?
The offer to John Maguire to publish his original email to me still goes.
McHenry County College’s Board meets tonight at six. The tower will be discussed. People are allowed three minutes near the beginning of the meeting to make comments.
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The top photo is of John Maguire talking to a Chicago Tribune reporter before the McHenry County College Board meeting last Wednesday night.
Northwest Herald reporter Brett Rowland gave more details from the meeting last Wednesday in its Sunday edition.
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