Village to Settle Metro PCS Lawsuit

The Village of Mineola has agreed to pay $5,000 in legal fees to attorneys for wireless carrier over a permit to install a cell tower antenna in the village.

According to Mayor Lawrence Werther, the village had recently denied a permit to attach an antenna to a cell tower at 266 Maple Place. Unbeknownst to the current village board, a prior administration had waived future rights of contentions against such installations.

“We were not aware that a prior administration had settled a cell tower case by granting a stipulation that we would not contest the installation of new cell sites or cell equipment,” Werther said during Wednesday’s meeting at the .

Metro PCS took the village to Federal court in Central Islip due to the antennas being governed under the 1996 Telecommunications Act. “When the subsequent decision was made, we believe... it was the burden of the applicant to call that to our attention... and so the application was denied,” village attorney John Spellman said, adding that the village’s insurance company resolved the case and the village would not prevent future installations on the tower.

Subsequent to the suit, the board issued a new decision and went into court to settle. The remaining issue was the charge of legal fees “because n Federal court, the prevailing party’s entitled to seek those,” Spellman said, describing the two parties as “very, very far apart” in settlement amounts.

“Even though Metro PCS got the permit they were seeking, they sought these legal fees which we thought were excessive, particularly in light of the fact the permit was given,” Spellman said.

Metro PCS reportedly demanded $60,000 in fees from the village, and sought to go through the entire application process again and hold another public hearing in Mineola.

“We told them to get lost,” Spellman said, explaining he chose to put the phrasing politely.

Instead of $60,000, the village has settled the suit and will pay $5,000 in legal fees to Metro PCS.