My Latest Email to Mayor: ‘Not Trying to Embarrass You or the City Council’

If you’re interested in where this debate is going, read on.  And please feel free to weigh in on your concerns regarding cell towers being located near or on school grounds in La Mesa.

From: "artmadrid@cox.net" <artmadrid@cox.net>
To: Heidi Bentz <murraymanormom@yahoo.com>
Cc: dwitt@ci.la-mesa.ca.us
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2011 3:44 AM
Subject: Re:

heidi, you have purposely failed to respond to specific comments/questions  in my recent e mail to your allegations!

what specific evidence do you have that the city is purposely disregarding the health and welfare of its residents, including children? (doing exactly what you personally want is not "evidence")

what has been your level of communication with the appropriate agency re this matter, specifically the fcc?

what prompted you to have a preconceived negative opinion of me, as mayor, and then you "changed your mind when you attended the council meeting and saw how ‘respectful’ i was to others and then i became hostile towards you?" 

you continue to say that "you believe that the council has a desire to advocate for children"  what evidence do you have that the council has acted against the welfare of our children?

as i asked before, do you have a cell phone, and how often do you use it around children, not just yours but other children, and the public in general? aren’t you concerned about their welfare?

have you talked to the lmsv school board and their superintendent re this matter?

my comments are in direct response to your continued charge that the city, council and i do nothing for children, please do you homework before you continue to try to embarrass the city, its staff and council.

art madrid   

My answer:

Mr. Mayor, let me try to answer all of your questions. 

First, I’m not trying to embarrass you or the city council.  I’m trying to have a conversation about solutions to this recurrent problem of cell phone towers being permitted on or near La Mesa’s public schools. 

I do not believe the city is purposely disregarding anyone’s health.  But by not putting in place measures to assist communities in fighting these towers BEFORE they are permitted, I believe the city is responsible for permitting potentially dangerous, radiation-emitting cell phone towers within 1500 feet (the hot zone) of schools where our children play and learn all day. 

I have faith that if intelligent ideas are put before our city council, they may consider these ideas as useful and beneficial.  My hope is that, as other cities across our state have done, this city council will implement some of these ideas. 

These solutions, as discussed with our assistant city manager and city attorney, are

1) To notify - upon receipt of an application for a permit - any school or daycare, public or private, within 1500 feet of a proposed personal wireless facility.   This would give the community time to mobilize effectively.  Time is of the essence when fighting these towers, as I’m sure you’ll agree.  It is much easier to ask AT&T to find another site before they’ve invested the money and time in installing a tower over a school.  Further, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires a written record to accompany any community’s denial of a location.  This written record takes time to compile, and time to research.  

2) To adopt a resolution similar to those adopted by other cities in our fine state, and across our country.  The list of these resolutions is in the paperwork I gave to the assistant city manager and city attorney and head of zoning in our meeting last month.  I’ll attach the document to this email for your perusal.  This resolution would show solidarity with our community.  It would increase the tide of awareness of the potential risks of RF radiation and the need for local governments to be given more control over zoning decisions.

3) To make an easily accessible and navigable page on the city’s website to keep community members aware of the latest applications for permits for wireless facilities.  This would make it easier for the community to fight the telecommunications companies without involving the city. 

To continue answering your concerns, I feel that the appropriate channels for me to pursue are not with the federal government or the FCC first, but with my local city council, and local school board.  Yes, I have contacted the La Mesa Spring Valley School District via my school’s principal.  This was my first course of action, actually.  And I’m thrilled with their response.  It seems they are considering drafting/approving a resolution similar to that passed in Los Angeles by the school board there.  

I don’t feel my personal use of a cell phone is pertinent to the issue of cell phone towers being located near schools.  Cell towers are inevitable, and as I mentioned at the city council meeting, I value the technology, its role in family security, and even in securing democracy, as the past months’ happenings across the globe have testified. 

However, cell towers don’t need to be placed anywhere and everywhere.  They needn’t be placed adjacent to or on school grounds.  But to relieve your concerns, I’ll answer your question:  I don’t own a cell phone account.  When I was pregnant, my mother asked me to carry a cell phone in my last trimester so that she could be on call for me.  Even then, I did not carry it on my person, knowing that cell phones emit radiation. 

I did, admittedly, keep the phone per my mother’s wishes, and it lives, for the most part, in my laundry room, as far from the living areas as possible, often without a charged battery, much to her dismay.  I obviously don’t use the phone daily.  If ever I feel there is an emergency or one of my family members is in danger, I don’t hesitate to use the phone if it is charged. 

This past week, I used the phone from the ER of Grossmont hospital.  My children are not allowed to speak on cell phones, and whenever I use them, I hold the phone at least an inch from my head.  I hope this answers your questions about my own use of cell phones and whether I am consistent in my desire to protect children from their radiation. 

When I first began campaigning against the cell tower, I had no preconceived notions of you regarding your treatment of this issue.  I was soon after saddened by an email (which I referred to in my first lamesa.patch blog) forwarded to me by another parent from Murray Manor.  This email was sent by you to her after she raised similar concerns to mine.  I was disappointed by the tone of your email to our school community.  Absolutely.  I will quote it here for you, and perhaps in re-reading it, you will see how your email would leave the school community feeling abandoned. 

The opinion I formed after reading this email was that you felt there was nothing the city could do to help our school or any other schools in resisting cell tower installations.  It even seems to imply that you feel you have to approve every application you receive.  I felt, and still feel, that you are using fear of legal repercussions as a shield to deflect responsibility away from engaging with this issue.  The city owes its constituents an intelligent conversation about ways we can work together to protect our children.

I sincerely hope that your next response to me will be a step in this direction.

Here is the aforementioned email:

[Concerned parent], thank you for your e mail and expressed concern. Legally, the city can do nothing on this or any other cell tower application. Besides this location has already be accepted by the city last year. Federal legislation was passed several years ago that take the authority away from all local governments nation wide to deny a cell tower application.

The only and I mean only authority we have is to review and approve the physical structure or building where the equipment will be placed. No authority over the equipment that goes inside the building.

The FCC, Federal Communications Commission, is the only one who can address your concerns; these are not excuses but the hard facts. Several years ago we attempted to deny the location where a cell tower was going to be constructed and we were sued by the cell company and we lost big time.

You should also know that we have no authority or control over school property, the La Mesa, Spring Valley School District Board of Directors has that responsibility.

Art Madrid