Mayor Eileen Krieb and the Village Board of Sea Cliff have announced that the village will cease negotiations regarding the proposed installation of a cell phone tower at the village's public works facility.

According to a press release from the Village of Sea Cliff, the current administration has always placed the protection of the village taxpayers and fiscal responsibility among its top priorities and has been very diligent and aggressive in exploring opportunities for new sources of municipal revenue and innovative cost-cutting measures. Over the course of her first year in office, Mayor Krieb has implemented a management style that ensures that operations of the village are conducted in a more business-like manner.

When the village was approached with a proposal to construct a cell phone tower, the board decided to actively pursue the potential benefits of such a project. The proposal indicated that the project would result in new revenues to the village and suggested that there may be significant gaps in the cell phone grid affecting the village and that, therefore, a cell tower in the village was "inevitable."

In pursuing its investigation and negotiation of the proposal, the village found that the financial impact of the project does not appear to ultimately meet the village's expectations. In addition, after many months of review which included discussions with cellular communication experts, the mayor and the village board have determined that a substantial need for additional coverage probably does not exist.

Based on the information currently before the village including the location of other present and future cell tower sites outside the village combined with the continued rapid pace of technological change, the mayor and board have determined that sufficient cell phone coverage exists or will exist.

For these reasons, the village has decided to terminate its current negotiations regarding the installation of the proposed cell phone tower.