Important Update: New Developments Strengthen the Case to Pause the Cardinal Hill Tower Process

Thank you everyone that has supported the petition against the 155-foot cell tower at Cardinal Hill! We have some important updates to share with everyone working hard on this effort: 

• The town of Vienna is actively working on its own strategy to improve cell coverage by considering new rooftop telecom infrastructure at 527 Maple Ave East and other locations at a planned 8/24 meeting 
  
  
• Since the height of the Cardinal Hill cell tower is designed to support a 1-mile radius (not just club coverage), the club should delay considering the 155-foot tower until they better understand what impact these changes will have on cellular coverage before committing its property to a lease that could last decades
  
  
• If you share these concerns, please contact the leaders involved in this decision making process to urge them to delay including: 
  • David Diggs, Cardinal Hill President/the Cardinal Hill board (president@chsrc.com and chsrcvienna@chsrc.com)
  • Matt Forkas, Milestone Towers Senior Project Manager (matthew@milestonetowers.com) 
  • Walter Alcorn, Fairfax County Supervisor - Hunter Mill District (huntermill@fairfaxcounty.gov) 

Before rushing into a long-term cell tower lease, we believe Cardinal Hill should pause the process until basic questions are answered: 

1. What problem is the tower actually solving? Is the goal connectivity at Cardinal Hill, or broader coverage across Northeast Vienna?
   
   
2. Is a 150+ foot tower truly necessary? Enhanced Wi-Fi, rooftop equipment, small cells, upgrades to existing sites and other alternatives deserve independent evaluation and may change the need for Cardinal Hill to host infrastructure to support the broader area. 
   
   
3. How will Vienna's plans affect the need for this tower? Milestone and the carriers should provide updated engineering that accounts for existing, approved and reasonably anticipated infrastructure nearby in both the Town of Vienna and Fairfax County.
   
   
4. Why is Milestone the only vendor being considered? A project of this magnitude should include competitive proposals and independent analysis.
   
   
5. Why the urgency? There appears to be little downside to spending additional months doing the diligence and substantial downside to committing Club property before these questions are resolved.
   
   
6. Are members getting the full picture? These developments, along with the lease terms, economics, alternatives, tax implications and independent professional analysis, should be shared with all Cardinal Hill members before any vote.

We are not asking anyone to ignore the need for better cellular service. We are asking for a thoughtful process that establishes what infrastructure is actually necessary before Cardinal Hill makes a potentially decades-long commitment.

There is time to get this right. Cardinal Hill and the surrounding community deserve that diligence.

Thank you and please continue sharing our petition across social media, chat groups, and other mediums!