Roads and utilities

Cherry Valley cell coverage

The township has leased ground at the Cherry Valley treatment plant to Wireless Edge Towers III, LLC to build a cell tower for Skillman, at $46,212 a year. As of October 2026 the Mayor said no one had yet "taken a lease," and residents were asked to write to the FCC.

Checked against the primary record on . Every figure on this page is sourced at the foot of the article.

Tower company chosen; no lease taken yet Last moved

What happens next

No construction date. Watch Township Committee agendas for the lease, and Planning Board agendas for a review of the tower.

Residents of Cherry Valley and its 55+ Clubside section have long reported dropped calls and weak service, including an emergency call that “dropped twice.” In November 2025 the Township Committee found “substantial gaps in wireless communications service and emergency services communications coverage in Skillman,” and offered about 2,500 square feet of the township’s Cherry Valley treatment plant property, at 192 Inverness Drive, for a cell tower.

The township does not build the tower itself. It leases the land by sealed bid to a tower company, which builds at its own cost and rents space to carriers; the township collects a fixed rent plus a share of carrier rents. The same model produced the tower at the municipal complex after a 2024 lease award.

The first round of bids was rejected in January 2026 and the lease re-bid “with adjusted scope and term.” On March 19, 2026 the Committee awarded it, 3-0, to Wireless Edge Towers III, LLC at $46,212 a year plus 41% of rent from the second carrier on (Res. #26-3-117).

On October 15, 2026 the Mayor said the tower “can only go up when we have someone who’s going to lease,” and that “we don’t have anyone who’s taken a lease” (uncorrected captions). She did not say who. Residents were asked to write to the FCC. The record does not show whether the Wireless Edge lease has been signed, its term, the tower’s height, or which board will review it. The site is at the plant the township plans to close; see closing the Cherry Valley sewage plant.

The Cherry Valley cell tower, explained

Timeline

Each dated event on this issue, oldest first, linked to the full sourced entry.

  1. Resolved Phase 1 of the cell service plan: the township leases land at the municipal complex for a towerThe Township Committee awarded a lease of land at the municipal complex, 100 Community Drive, to SectorSite Tower Assets, LLC to build a cell tower, at $41,000 a year plus a revenue share (Res. #24-3-117, 5-0). The tower was built by 2026. The township later used the same approach for the Cherry Valley site.
  2. Resolved Committee seeks bids to lease land at the Cherry Valley treatment plant for a cell towerAfter a photo-simulation presentation and comments from Cherry Valley and Clubside residents, the Township Committee voted 5-0 to seek sealed bids to lease about 2,500 square feet at 192 Inverness Drive for a wireless tower (Res. #25-11-373). The resolution finds "substantial gaps" in wireless and emergency coverage in Skillman. The minimum rent was set at $44,000 a year.
  3. Resolved Committee rejects both Cherry Valley tower bids and re-advertises "with adjusted scope and term"The first bid round for the Cherry Valley tower lease (Bid #13-2025) drew two sealed bids. On the advice of its cell tower consultant, the Committee rejected both and re-advertised with revised specifications, to get "more favorable financial terms" (Res. #26-1-49, 4-0). The minimum rent stayed at $44,000.
  4. Pending Cherry Valley tower lease awarded to Wireless Edge Towers III at $46,212 a yearOn the second round of bids (Bid #01-2026), the Township Committee awarded the lease of ground at the Cherry Valley treatment plant to Wireless Edge Towers III, LLC: $46,212 a year plus 41% of rent from the second broadband subtenant onward (Res. #26-3-117, 3-0). The company builds the tower and then signs up carriers. As of October 2026, no carrier had signed.
  5. Pending Cherry Valley cell coverage: the township's tower site has no carrier lined up, and residents are asked to write to the FCCIn November 2025 the township offered a site at the Cherry Valley treatment plant for a cell tower, to close what it called "substantial gaps" in wireless and emergency coverage in Skillman. On October 15, 2026, Mayor Singh said the tower "can only go up when we have someone who's going to lease" it, that no one has, and that residents had been asked to write to the FCC.

Explainers

  • The Cherry Valley Cell Tower: Who Builds It, Who Pays, and Why It Isn't Up Yet

    The township has picked a company to build a cell tower at the Cherry Valley treatment plant, at $46,212 a year in rent to the township. The tower still depends on a phone carrier agreeing to put antennas on it, and none has. This piece covers how the deal works, how the township got here, what the zoning code says about towers, and what residents can do.

Documents

The township's own records on this issue. Each links to the official copy.

Sources for this overview

  1. Township Committee minutes, November 13, 2025 (Res. #25-11-373)
  2. Township Committee minutes, January 22, 2026 (Res. #26-1-49)
  3. Township Committee minutes, March 19, 2026 (Res. #26-3-117)
  4. Township Committee meeting video, October 15, 2026: committee reports
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