The Henderson Center cell tower controversy shot back in the news last week after a crack appeared on the church building.
The “stair step” crack alarmed already adverse neighbors who worry about site stability for the planned tower. Longtime residents believe the church sits on former landfill.
The City of Eureka cited the Apostolic Church for public nuisance and inadequate foundation on February 11. The City also issued a Stop Work Order to Verizon on February 13th.
Church neighbors have adamantly opposed the tower since the plan became public. Some 80 households within 1000 feet of the site have signed petitions against the tower. The neighbors are reportedly threatening to file individual suits in Small Claims Court against the church for being a nuisance landlord.
City Councilman Mike Jones openly sided with Verizon against the neighbors last year when he voted against a 45-day moratorium on towers in the city. Soon after he attended a cell tower court hearing on the arm of Verizon’s lawyers.
And he thinks voters will elect him for mayor?
Why was Mike Jones against the moratorium? You elude to it some how being connected with him attending a court hearing on the topic. Just say what you mean, don’t beat around the bush. What do you mean?
That “pastor” gets a monthly check from FEMA- he’s a turncoat, and has taken government classes on how to tell his “flock” to turn in weapons, take vaccines, and obey government because of Roman’s 13.
The crack in the building just sows that God doesn’t like those who feed themselves off tax dollars, and sign on to a satanic government program.
BTW- Mike Jones needs to be fired for taking money from garbage companies to pass a government backed monopoly that will be used to extract wealth from the dumboldts of humboldt county.
Government only kills and steals- and it’s schools are the reason you and your children are so stupid.
What’s the reason residents don’t definitively know if there was a landfill? It should be a matter of public record.
Secondly, H, what’s your source for the claim? I didn’t see it in the TS article or the other linked blog posts.
Ozzy, sorry if the post is unclear. Jones voted against the moratorium in November. From the T-S:
The neighbors went to court over the issue around that same time whereupon they reportedly saw Mike Jones — who is the councilman from their ward — chatting it up with lawyers for Verizon and ignoring his constituents. The neighbors feel he’s made his allegiances very plain.
The longtime residents seem to definitively know. I haven’t checked pubic records.
If Mike were Mayor at least he could only vote in the event of a tie.
“Secondly, H, what’s your source for the claim? I didn’t see it in the TS article or the other linked blog posts.”
God explained his actions against the church during a twiitter exchange with Heraldo.
Many of the neighbors have complained that they were not part of or informed of the Public Review Process. A known “sinking foundation” supporting a building placed upon a “fill site” is a probable reason to “exclude and manipulate” the general public; albeit, very dishonest and deceitful. If this is the church that is located between “D” and Williams Streets, then it is known that there was foundation work done to “shore up” the failing supportive structures. The work was less than 15 years ago IF it is the church I worked across the street from, as well as, down the street on a different project for Mr. Cringle. Also, if councilmember Jones is using the loss of business as a ruse excuse, then he must be reminded that a church is not a business, especially a taxed business.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
From page six of the Background on the project, signed by Sidnie Olson and Kevin Hamblin:
“The Engineering Department notes that there may be approximately 10 to 15 feet of fill on the property and that care should be taken in designing the building foundations should the fill exist in the area of the new building.”
Thus, we have the City of Eureka stating that it doesn’t know where the fill is on the church property, and yet approving the construction of a 60 foot tower on the property.
Given the troubling new information presented by the crack in the picture above, which to just about any layman, appears structural, this project needs to be remanded back to the Planning Commission for a closer look!
Clearly, the crack is the beginning of a divinely created stairway to heaven. The pastor is doing satan’s work by filling it in. Will the church be swallowed up into the ground as punishment? Only the priestly structural engineers can foretell the Lord’s plan.
Thanks for answering my question Neal. I will pray to you on Sunday instead of narwhals.
Neal, have you reviewed the soils investigation and tower design as thoroughly as the other documents? We’d be interested to hear your opinion.
How many apostolics does it take to change a lightbulb? Just one, their hands are already in the air.
Yes, Jeffrey, it is the same church, at 272 Harris Street, spanning the whole block from Williams to D, built in 1978 by its then-175 family congregants. It is said that the church’s attendance has fallen to about 25 families.
It should be noted that the church was cited by the City of Eureka Building Dept. on February 11th for trying to cover up the crack without a permit. We have a church attempting to hide (and it appears there are other cracks like it as well that the church has covered up, probably without a permit, in the past) a very troubling structural defect, on the cheap, that could well pose a significant safety hazard to its residential neighbors, leaving out, for the moment, the fact that they have succeeded in allowing Verizon to begin building a 60-foot cell tower literally feet from their apparently sinking building. These households sit directly across from it in row houses on D and Williams Streets.
Of course, the entire neighborhood is outraged. Where is Mike Jones, in his ward’s moment of need? Fighting for the other side (Verizon) to ram this enormously unpopular tower down the throats of our neighborhood.
When concerned citizens of Henderson Center first spoke to the city council, their representative seemed impressed by their concerns about a cell tower in a residential area. When they next spoke there, their representative had done a complete about face. He parroted cellular industry positions and said that a friend of his was so little concerned about health effects that he put a cell tower on his own property. If this cell tower is on a field where the most vulnerable of us, our precious children, play soccer, his friend lives a safe distance from the tower, and away from the irritating noise of the cooling fans.
Same sort of thing happened in McKinleyville. A tower was planned for one location in public meetings, then there was a quick about face and hurried contract placing a tower in the center of town.
But if he were mayor, he could appoint anyone to the council, and the conserves have three votes.
Buy a hard hat and cover it with aluminum foil!
I’m always concerned about RF waves damaging my children while they play soccer. That’s why I also wrap them in aluminum foil!
Fear mongers everywhere!
Everyone hide!!!!
There is ample research indicating strong frequent exposure to electromagnetic fields causes quite a few serious health problems. We love our phones too much.
This was a prime example of poor public process. The city claims they contacted all of the appropriate people in the area. I own a house on the same block as the church and was not contacted by anyone until it was too late for public comment. Should not have happened in the first place.
ahhhhahahahahhahahahahahhah!
the comments make the blog.
ahahahahahahahaha!
I do not believe that merely filling in the cracks is in violation of any building codes as it could be a simple (yet lacking more appropriate measures) maintenance attempt to keep water out from causing more structural nuisances to the general public.
With that said, the amount of the cracking and style of the cracking would clearly still be visible when based against the new grout/mortar used to fill in the cracks. If individual bricks were pulled off and then re-mortared back on, then this would necessitate a permit to inspect that the replacement and repair of multiple bricks was inspected. The ultimate evidence is the crack itself which PROVES something structural is occuring again on a church building that has had PREVIOUS foundation shoring done to it in the past – thus providing additional evidence that past engineers were incorrect in their analysis which ended up being used for approving the previous project repair work issued by the building department. Multiple General Contractors are aware of the site’s problems. It is impossible for the City to stake any claims that they were/are UNAWARE of this site’s soil conditions. A redress of the public review process appears to be in order for this site. Could it be that the Church was looking for extra money from Verizon to use on fixing the church building once again – although, was it really fixed in the first place? Or, maybe the church thought that if a Tower was erected, then sank, shifted and fell on the church, that the church could get a bunch of money to redo the whole site for essentially free insurance dollars. This Verizon application process is highly suspicious.
Oh, by the way, I have neighbors up the street who had a Cell Tower put on their property too. I did not know about it until I saw the crane pulling in and out of the property over the course of just 2-3 days. I was not surprised since the property would be very hard to sell due to it’s limitations for further development. The County slid this Cell Tower through very, very quietly. The irony was that another Cell Tower down the street got all the attention because it was visible from the roadway; while, a driveway and trees helped to camouflage the neighbor’s cell tower from outside public view.
When public officials are not open wiith the general public on projects, the chances are likely that something is favored to not be let out of the hat because then the liklihood of the project being accepted usually declines in support. Cell Towers are different than buildings in that Cell Towers transmit, reroute, receive, etc… radio wave transmissions that are cast onto, over and next to other properties and the general public ingressing and egressing along public rights-of-ways. Cell Tower construction definately needs it’s own section in the building and planning codes and ordinances for proper public review and oversight. This is a good example for the creation of beneficiary regulatory laws that require clarification, education and enforcement. As much as I realise that some regualtion needs to be expunged, I also realise that some regulation must keep up with an ever changing society and the impacts that follow.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
I heard residue from the unpermitted caulking wiped out thousands of coho downstream. It was so bad even the pikeminnow might be gone for good.
Jeffrey, a point of clarification. On the basis of the photo above alone, the Building Dept. issued to the Apostolic Faith Church a “Request to Abate Code Violations and Public Nuisance.”
Three “nuisance conditions” (their words, not mine) were specified:
“1) Deteriorated or inadequate foundations. Potential foundation settlement causing wall buckling above.
2)… Large ‘stair step’ crack in masonry veneer on south side of building.
3) Work without permits. Repair of cracked and deteriorated mortar without permits.”
So, let the record reflect: filling cracked and deteriorated mortar without permits is a NO-NO in Eureka, because it is all-too-often evidence of structural, not cosmetic, defects.
“Fill” does not mean “landfill.” Fill can mean wetland fill (not good for a solid foundation; for a telling example, google Marina District 1989 earthquake liquefaction).
Is the church really built of brick, or is it brick facade? How old is it?
By the way, it is true that a cell tower was built in a sneaky way in McKinleyville. The MCSD board first proposed putting it on the land they lease for water towers but the neighbors opposed it. So MCSD voted to put it on their land on Central Ave., saying that there would be a county permit process and public hearing before it could be approved. But then Verizon decided to go with two smaller towers instead of one tall tower, so they didn’t need a county permit. Go figure.
P.S. some have pointed out that it was a violation of the Brown Act, since putting the tower next to the MCSD office on Central Ave. was not on the agenda–it was suggested by the General Manager, and voted on without public notification. It must suck working for a cell company these days!
Neal who cares??? Cell towers are often the only thing left standing after major hurricanes and earthquakes. Who are you to question the soils engineering? What are your structural and soils engineering qualifications? This tower issue is easily reduced down to the argument that you fear the radio waves and assume they cause harmful health effects. Clinging to the noticing, air quality permits, and cracks in a church are just feable attempts at stopping what has already been legally approved and engineered.
Thanks Neal,
I think I covered it in my response earlier which, ironically, is similar in thought processes to the clarification you gave. Much appreciated. Do you know what the unmet condition is that was aluded to, however not specifically reported, in the T-S article?
Additionally, but not related to this specific church and generally speaking of course, if there was not any foundation problems on a building due to buckling, deterioration, sinking, etc… ;rather, cracks in mortar (not like the stair-stepped cracks in the photo – but a crack here, a crack there per se) occured from years of earthquakes, long duration of time and weathering, or some other simple reasons like shrinkage due to longterm curation and drying, filling the cracks CAN be maintenance, thus not requiring a permit when safety situations are not involved which would trigger a nuisance claim.
I am not supporting the church whatsoever in this issue, for clarity purposes. I believe the checklist of 3 items to support the nuisance claim is justifiable(stair-stepping elements) especially when compared to past experiences with the specific site. Yet, it is important that people understand the “fine line” between that which requires a permit, and that which does not. Maintenance of any building does not require a building permit. Certain times, it is a matter of the schematic, inventive wording that public officials TRY to use to get permit money through creating MORE work (remember Bonnie Neely and redevelopment plans for Manila through the word ruse definition of blight?). This specific issue with the church is well known and the action taken is justifiable.
Again, a crack here and a crack there is not necessarily a situation which requires a permit to fill in with a mortar based caulk or grout. Just like a stucco building, wood sided building, etc…. cracks are not necessarily structurally caused. In fact, concrete cures for the better part of 30+ years and will have it’s share of hairline cracks too. With that said, if cracks are construed as public nuisances, then the City of Eureka has a lot of sidewalks to be repairing.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
How many of those 80 household have cell phones of their own? And would they give up those cell phones if the tower was some how connected to their cell phone provider?
11:41 am,
Well, since the tower in question is not operable, I would assume the radio waves are being retrieved, rerouted, recirculated, etc… through a different tower at a different location.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
Let the record reflect: I am not against cell phones. I, like most of you, have one myself (not Verizon!)
What I am against, is unnecessary cell towers in residential areas. Nowhere has it been shown that this tower was necessary, especially plopped where it is, to be literally looming over a sea of mostly single-story family residences. Users of Verizon cell phones do not experience a lack of coverage here or within range of the tower going in, to my knowledge. What this is about, we were told by a Verizon employee who pulled over to talk upon seeing our picketing of the church, is positioning Verizon to be a player in whatever next-generation wireless technology is coming down the pike, be it wi-fi, wi-max, etc., etc.
To couch your argument in a phony “this tower’s gonna save your life, people” rationale, I think, compromises your own credibility.
Great words of wisdom Neal!!!
P.S. I got rid of my cell phone use because of poor service, overcharging and bad management of customer accounts by U.S. cellular representatives. Further, while I was digitally recording the conversations over the hard line phone, I made clear the lies and deceit customer service was trying to engage in – like U.S. Cellular employees typewriting on their computer those certain parts of the overall conversation for only that which they wanted to in order to fit and mold a conversation to their needs. This is fabricating the truth into a manipulative lie. Therefore, by principles, I discontinued the relationship. In fact, life is much more peaceful now. I can still use 911 in an emergency.
Many corporations are not as up front as the consumer base has been brainwashed to think. Just look at all those corporate job cuts being invoked. When profit margins are threatened, first it is higher prices; then, it is less product; finally, it is less work hours or none at all for the worker who does most of the work, unlike the higher-ups who get huge salaries, perks, benefits, bonuses and such that are really indicative of the work done by lower rung employees.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th Diustrict
I was glad to see that Neal will be on the committee to work on a cell tower ordinance, although I guess he and Larry will be badly outnumbered.
My wife and I gave up our cell phones because:
- the studies I uncovered point to definite adverse health effects in the vicinity of a cell tower
- we didn’t want a cell phone in our pocket when we were picketing the church
- it seemed like an unnecessary expense
There is “ample research” showing that people who make statements supported only by allegations of “ample research” are making up their “facts” as they go along.
Hey Neal, what cell company do you use? Where are their cell towers?
My friend worked for years for a cellular store. To our backs, the employees called their products “cancer sticks.” That’s good enough for me.
I got mine originally from Evergreen Wireless. It was Cingular then, now it’s AT&T. And no, to my knowledge, they haven’t been in Eureka foisting giant cell towers on residential neighborhoods.
BTW, why such a problem with folks defending their neighborhood from unwanted, unneeded, visually inappropriate and possibly dangerous intrusions? I’d say you should take the lodgepole out of your rear end!
Sometimes, a lodgepole is barbed and can’t come out without shredding up the support system it has symbiotically used to gain traction and threshold.
Jeffrey Lytle
McKinleyville – 5th District
Neal, Nothing wrong with opposing cell towers, but you and your group are just a tad late. The tower is legal and now you and grasping at straws.
Bell tower, cell tower. Does God know the difference?
Neal Latt- Just as I thought, you are a total hypocrite and utterly full of shit.
Let’s talk about AT&T cell towers for a while.
The crack is more than just in the wall,there is a crack in thier biblical foundation. This organization does not care the least one bit about residents health and well being. All they are concerned is about lining thier own pockets. The orders come from Portland , the local wolf is a hireling like the rest and is under the leadership amongst a pack of wolves from Portland, 501c3 antichrist corporation.
I speak out as a former member of this organization and have enough experience to see that they dont care about the people one bit. Another money grabbing organization, no different the money changers in the Temple. As long as the unbiblical tithes keep flowing from the sheeple these buildings will continue to exist and plunder the people. Shame on you Portland, greedy dogs they are.God hath remembered her iniquities.