:LOCKPORT – Mayor Michael W. Tucker and Corporation Counsel John J. Ottaviano told the Common Council on Wednesday that the city has received an offer to buy Sprint’s lease on cellphone tower space atop the Outwater Park water tower.
In 2000, the Council approved a 25-year deal with Sprint, in which the communications company agreed to pay the city $15,408 per year for the use of the tower. The city would collect $184,896 over the next 12 years if it kept the lease. However, Landmark Dividend of El Segundo, Calif., is offering to buy the lease for a lump sum, an amount that Ottaviano said is still being negotiated.
Landmark, described on its website as the nation’s leader in cellular and billboard ground leases, would collect Sprint’s annual payments, while the city would keep ownership of the tower. Ottaviano suggested that the city should seek a bid from one of Landmark’s competitors, Unison Site Management of New York City.
In 2000, the Council approved a 25-year deal with Sprint, in which the communications company agreed to pay the city $15,408 per year for the use of the tower. The city would collect $184,896 over the next 12 years if it kept the lease. However, Landmark Dividend of El Segundo, Calif., is offering to buy the lease for a lump sum, an amount that Ottaviano said is still being negotiated.
Landmark, described on its website as the nation’s leader in cellular and billboard ground leases, would collect Sprint’s annual payments, while the city would keep ownership of the tower. Ottaviano suggested that the city should seek a bid from one of Landmark’s competitors, Unison Site Management of New York City.