- February 28, 2025
Surrounding communities should see an improvement in reception
BY WAYNE GRANT | STAFF WRITER
You see people talking on cell phones today just about everywhere. Everywhere, that is, except at the Airport Business Park.
Juan Loebel, president of Polymer Fabrications, said he always tells customers to reach him on the land line.
“The cell phone reception is really bad,” he said. “I think we’re between towers and the signal doesn’t know which way to go. It drops incoming calls into the voicemail.”
Kendra Bright, administrative business manager at Pace Analytical Services Inc. at the park, said, sometimes, she can get a bar of service. But her business, and its employees, cannot rely on cell phones.
That situation could change, and surrounding communities such as Bear Creek, Tomoka Oaks and the neighboring golf course could also see a boost in signal, if a company is successful in its plans to build a cell tower at the airport.
“It should help three to five, or possibly even 10, miles from the tower, depending on your elevation,” said Joe Mannarino, economic development director for Ormond Beach.
Mannarino has statements from a dozen business owners at the park saying the current cell reception is poor.
The Ormond Beach City Commission approved the execution of a lease agreement Jan. 8 which would allow Towercom LLC, of Jacksonville, to build a tower on a 0.05-acre piece of land within the Civil Air Patrol area at the airport. The company has built towers at airports throughout Florida, including at the Flagler County Airport.
The process will take several months, however, and depends on the successful completion of several steps.
Towercom will be in talks with carriers to get them to lease space on the tower. At the same time, the company must apply for a permit from the city's planning department, as well as have a site plan review. The company must also meet with neighboring residents.
In the final stages, Towercom will need to go before the Planning Board and the City Commission, which will make the final decision.
Mannarino said Towercom has already done a marketing study and determined there is a need for the tower.
“Major carriers try to infill their coverage areas,” he said.
The bottom portion of the tower will be obscured by trees, and the top portion will be visible from parts of Airport Road.
The Civil Air Patrol will be part of the lease agreement, since the tower would be on land they currently occupy. The CAP tower will be disassembled by Towercom and installed on the new tower. The airport will be able to install security cameras and antennas on the tower at no charge.
As part of the site plan review, Telecom will be required to conduct a balloon test using a balloon no less than five feet in diameter, which would be floated at the proposed tower height for two consecutive days. This will allow the site plan review committee and neighbors to see how high the tower will be. Also, a simulated image of the tower will be placed on photos of the site for review.
The tower will not be on golf course property, but a cart path passes near the tower site. City staff will meet with golf course representatives to discuss the landscaping and fencing that will be installed.
Mannarino said he has already met with the course's general manager, who has no objections.
“Golfers on the course don’t get a good signal,” Mannarino said.
The city had an airport consulting firm, Avcon Inc., make an assessment of the lease agreement. In a letter, the company stated that the lease “is consistent with industry standards” and “is a fair deal for both parties.”
If the project goes through, Telecom will pay the city Airport Fund $10,800 per year to lease the land, and a revenue-sharing component of $400 per month for each carrier that locates on the tower will also be established. The first carrier that leases space on the tower will be exempt from the revenue-sharing fee.
