WYANDOTTE, Mich. – Hundreds of people were unhappy after having their expectations crushed upon learning more about the 5G tower that will soon be activated near a Wyandotte school.
Parents expected to talk directly to T-Mobile, but after making a presentation to board members, representatives from the company left the building.
Frustration and agitation in Wyandotte resulted from parents not getting the answers they wanted about safety concerns regarding the controversial location of 5G cell antennas.
Read: Cellphone tower radiation: Can it cause cancer, other adverse health effects?
“Dr. Cost, you need to resign this evening as you have failed this community,” said a parent during the meeting.
Representatives from T-Mobile were in the building making a case for why their technology is ideal for Washington Elementary School with theoretical stats but no concrete data.
“We have literally hundreds of cell sites in the central region that are on schools from nursery school through college,” said Michelle Sanders, director of lease and site optimization for T-Mobile.
Board Trustee Frank Tarnowski tried pleading with officials to have a change of heart.
“Has T-Mobile ever took into consideration that basically the whole city of Wyandotte is against you guys?” said Tarnowski. However, Sanders clarified that was unlikely to happen.
“We have all of our federal permits, all of our state permits, all of our local permits, and a valid contract that allows our cell site to operate safely and to go on air when it’s time to,” Sanders said.
Parents got furious when reps from the company didn’t directly answer any questions and left through the school’s back door.
Toward the end, a former board member present when the deal was made in 2018 tried unsuccessfully dousing the flames, bringing up how no one cared when the agreement was made, causing an adverse reaction from the crowd.
T-Mobile agreed to pay the district about $360,000 over 30 years for the structure. But a breach of contract could cost around $5 million.
That’s only an estimation. But board members hoped to have an exact number in about a week.