St. John’s council approves City land lease for Eastlink communications tower

St. John’s city council approved a lease of City-owned land behind 245 Freshwater Road to Bragg Communications, the company operating Eastlink, for the installation of a communications tower.

The proposed tower will be located behind the St. John’s Farmers’ Market, adjacent to the shared-use path.

The request was reviewed by the City’s relevant departments, with no objections raised. Eastlink will be required to comply with all applicable municipal requirements, while any necessary federal approvals will also be required.

City staff recommended leasing the property for a nominal fee of $1 per year, saying that rate was consistent with similar agreements between the City and other telecommunications providers.

Coun. Davis questioned whether the City should charge a higher rate for use of its land and requested that the matter be deferred to allow council to consider whether additional revenue could be generated through leases of City-owned property.

The motion to defer was defeated, with six council members voting against it. Couns. Ryall, Davis and Earle voted in favour of the deferral.

Council then approved the lease, with seven members voting in favour and Couns. Davis and Halley voting against.

Council also asked staff to explore the feasibility of establishing market-based lease rates for future agreements involving City-owned land.