URBANA — U.S. Cellular has proposed a new location for a controversial cell tower that is closer to the center of the Urbana High School/Middle School campus.

On Tuesday night, U.S. Cellular project manager John Jakobsze outlined a plan to move the 150-foot-tall tower from a location west of the stadium bleachers to a new site between the indoor aquatic center and Urbana Middle School.

The flagpole-like tower would have a solid brick wall around its base, according to school board President John Dimit.

Dimit said the site for the proposed tower was changed at the request of city staff because it believed a more central site "was a better fit."

Following a nearly two-hour discussion on the proposal, the school board agreed to vote at its next meeting at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18 whether to give the go-ahead to U.S. Cellular to file for a special permit to allow a cellphone tower on school grounds.

Dimit said the application for the permit needs to be filed by the company, not the school district, because U.S. Cellular would be the owner of the tower and would be leasing space from the district.

Dimit said he invites district residents to contact school board members between now and Oct. 18 to help them to make a decision on the proposal.

The Oct. 18 vote would be the first step in the approval process for the cell tower.

It would next go to the Urbana Plan Commission and the Urbana City Council, which would need to approve a special use permit.

Then U.S. Cellular and school district officials would begin negotiating a final lease, which would need to be approved by the school board.

"It would mean roughly $1 million to the school district over 25 years," Dimit said.

Construction would take about eight weeks.

Jakobsze said the tower would provide improved wireless service for U.S. Cellular customers in the area, is compatible with existing land use, provides a location for other wireless carriers interested in improving service in Urbana and would provide long-term revenue for the school district.

"We received a letter from Verizon Wireless expressing an interest in our location," he said.

School board member Peggy Patten spoke out against allowing the tower on school grounds.

"The proposed lease agreement with U.S. Cellular is a bad idea for our district," Patten said. "In addition to the negative impacts on the aesthetics of our newly renovated property, the 150-foot-tall eight-foot-wide monolith will be a serious eyesore for first time visitors no matter where we try to hide the tower."

Patten said the tower brings increased liability costs for students, who, on a dare, might harm themselves climbing the tower or breaking into the utility box, as well as damage caused by a possible fire or the collapse of the tower.

"My interest in this is solely driven behind the revenue it would provide the district," Dimit said. "Three times since I have been on the school board we underwent significant budget reductions. Each time we got into very emotional arguments on where to cut the final $20,000. We're looking at a possible revenue source in that neighborhood.

"This is an opportunity to move Urbana schools ahead in areas where we have cut the budget."

School board member Ruth Ann Fisher said she opposes the proposal.

"I don't want that thing by the beautiful school that I graduated from," she said.

"What if we reject it," said board member Elaine Gehrmann, "and they build it two blocks away with somebody else getting the revenue?" she asked.

Board member Paul Poulosky said he thinks the new location is better than the original.

"It all boils down to how much money we get vs. giving up a little bit of real estate in an area that we are probably never going to use," Poulosky said.

Gale Walden of Urbana presented the board with petitions signed by more than 100 Urbana residents opposed to the tower.