MAHWAH — With the township in administrative limbo after the recall of Mayor William Laforet, his bid solicitation for a cell tower at Fire Company 3 has been ordered withdrawn by the council.

The withdrawal is the latest twist in a 13-year saga to resolve a 2-mile-wide dead zone on the Mahwah/New York State border between Stephen Lane and Tartan Road.

LAFORET:Mahwah mayor proceeds with firehouse cell tower bid request

PROPOSED:Cell tower proposed for Mahwah 'dead zone'

BLOCK:Mahwah residents aim to block cell tower

The Fire Company 3 site has been suggested at least four times over the past 13 years as the best site for a tower to resolve the dead zone.

On Thursday, however, 10 days after Laforet's call for bids, Mayor-elect John Roth agreed that Administrator Quentin Weist should withdraw the offer.

Although Roth has not been certified as Laforet's replacement, Township Council President Robert Hermansen said Monday, "We have the next mayor's agreement, and told the administrator we would not vote on the bids if they came back Dec. 20, so there is no point in proceeding with the bids" or request for proposals..

Weist confirmed Monday that "Mayor-elect Roth has indicated that we will not be proceeding with this RFP while we gather additional information."

Roth conceded Monday that "we are in uncharted territory" about what actions he can take before he is officially certified to succeed Laforet. Under Mahwah's government system, only the mayor can authorize bids. However, Roth said he had personally asked to have the bid process stopped.

"Council has expressed concern for a number of reasons," Roth said Monday. "My preference is to withdraw."

13 years

Residents thought the cell tower issue was resolved when its Board of Education signed an agreement in April to construct a tower on undeveloped property it owns west of Airmount Avenue near Secor's Farm.

LAFORET:Mahwah mayor proceeds with firehouse cell tower bid request

PROPOSED:Cell tower proposed for Mahwah 'dead zone'

BLOCK:Mahwah residents aim to block cell tower

However, the contract had to be canceled in August because the site contained wetlands.

Since then, residents have been bombarding council meetings with demands for an immediate replacement plan, saying that as residents switch from land lines to cell service, their safety is jeopardized in the dead zone.

AT&T presented options at an Oct. 18 council meeting for towers at either the Nilsen Avenue water tank site or the 11-acre Fire Company 3 on Rozanski Lane. It indicated that the firehouse provided better coverage, but that neither was perfect, and that smaller in-fill devices would be needed to bridge small dead zones caused by variations in elevation.

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Hermansen led the council that night in calling for a delay to have a professional further study the sites rather than go through a bid process similar to the school board, only to find the site unacceptable. However, Laforet charged that the delay had more to do with an upcoming election involving four incumbents and two challengers, and ordered the bidding to proceed on the firehouse site.

Hermansen in turn charged that issuing a bid two weeks before Laforet's recall vote was "an attack on me to benefit Bill," saying he was "crushed" by low votes in the four areas affected by the dead zone. Hermansen was the only incumbent defeated.

Residents nevertheless voted to recall Laforet and chose Roth to succeed him.

Hermansen said his goal is to find a solution that will not affect residents, citing in particular seven homes on Aspen Court immediately east of Fire Company 3.

"These homes average $1.5 million," Hermansen said in a phone interview Monday. "If they lose an average 15 percent of their property values if a cell tower goes in next door, why not explore alternatives?"

Hermansen conceded that scientific studies have not shown a health risk from cell tower radiation, but said, "Why take that risk if we don't have to?"