MAHWAH The Township Council emerged from an hourlong closed session Thursday to say they had reached agreement with a Masonicus Road resident to continue installation of power lines to feed a temporary cell tower on Fire Company 3 property.
Jeff Buchak of 73 Masonicus Road had halted the Rockland Electric installation April 6. He claimed the company had illegally cut down six trees in the wetlands area of his property without a Department of Environmental Protection permit, and that the township had not fulfilled a verbal promise to compensate him before work began.
Township Administrator Ben Kezmarsky said the town had reached an agreement with Buchak to continue the temporary power installation, and would require one day s work to energize the long-awaited tower in the 2-mile-wide dead zone on the township s northern border.
Fire Company 3 is accessed from Masonicus Road via Rozanski Lane, which runs across the backyard easements of two Aspen Court single-family homes. Relying on the language of the easement created in 1973, the Yuns contended the tower contractors did not have their permission to use the easement to reach the site to build the tower, run power lines or service the tower once completed.
It is not clear why the easement access was created when the property already had access via Carol Street on the north side of the site, although terrain and wetlands may have played a part in the decision.
The tower to resolve a 2-mile-wide dead zone on the township s northern border has been the subject of off-and-on talks for the past 16 years. Most recently, consultant Declan O Scanlon of FSD Enterprises has estimated a temporary tower will be up at the firehouse by May under the auspices of AT&T and Verizon.
However, the Sun suit contends the companies need their permission to use Rozanski Lane, an easement that runs along their rear property line, to bring in materials, run power lines or service the finished tower. The township is waiting for the installation of temporary power lines by Rockland Electric after discovering the firehouse lines are inadequate for the new structure.
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