Briarlake Parents to Ellis: Stop Cell Phone Towers or Lose Our Votes
No Briarlake Tower, a group of parents opposing the construction of a cell phone tower at their school, has a warning for county CEO Burrell Ellis.
On Wednesday, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners delivered a letter to county CEO Burrell Ellis recommending that he instruct the Office of Planning and Sustainability to deny building permits for cell towers proposed on county school campuses.
No Briarlake Tower, a group formed by parents, PTA members and neighbors of Briarlake Elementary School, would like to express its appreciation to the board of commissioners for responding to the concerns of its constituents. In contrast to the ill-considered obstinacy of the board of education, the commissioners' clear commitment to existing zoning policies and its focus on restricting the school board's actions to educational purposes reflect an admirable commitment to good government.
We now call upon Ellis to follow the board of commissioners' recommendation and instruct the Division of Planning and Sustainability to deny the building permits for the cell towers. In this election year, we and other DeKalb County citizens concerned with government accountability will follow his decision closely.
In off-cycle elections such as the one in July, which will decide whether Ellis remains in office, only the most motivated citizens tend to pay attention and vote. We are placing Ellis on notice that his decision on the cell tower building permits will be a key issue for our highly motivated community of voters in this election.
What do you think of No Briarlake Tower's warning to Burrell Ellis?
Tell us in the comments.
Cheryl Miller
2:17 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Great job Stephanie. You might get credit for helping, but you cannot erase the fact that you were at the T-mobile meeting and did not tell anyone about what you learned there. Have you really led a protest, or do you just like to claim the victory for the hard work the rest of us have done for the sake of the children? The truth always prevails.
Cheryl Miller
2:20 pm on Monday, April 2, 2012
Thank you to our county commissioners for listening and taking the active approach to this issue, the way most counties across the country have done when faced with the same controversial practices that T-mobile is known for. Bowen himself said that this was nothing new. So, the school board can't claim that they didn't know there would be people upset with the lack of notfication. It is the standard practice for T-mobile along with informing the PTA and letting them decide how to let the community know (or not).
Diane
3:20 pm on Thursday, April 5, 2012
"So, the school board can't claim that they didn't know there would be people upset with the lack of notfication" --Being from the Medlock area and fighting our own Tower proposal...I remember thinking back then "how come Briarlake isn't fighting theirs?" You guys should have fought it at that first T-mobile + School Board folks meeting and nipped it in the bud then. Then you wouldn't have had to bother Mr. Ellis with this.
Cheryl Miller
3:10 am on Friday, April 6, 2012
Diane, what meeting are you referring to? When was the first T-mobile and school board folks meeting you are talking about?
I'm from the Brockett area, not Briarlake. We also fought and won. First I heard anything was in May when the flyers came home. MLK folks said their PTA knew back in October 2010, same time Briarlake Foundation was set up to receive funds. Could that be the reason they decided not to protest sooner?