HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – City of Hollywood leaders held an emergency meeting Monday regarding the ongoing effort to put up a much-needed 911 tower in a park.
City officials said an alternate location will still be considered even though the city previously agreed with the county to leave the decision up to an expert's study.
City commissioners called the meeting to discuss the result of the expert's report stating West Lake Park is the best location for the new emergency communications tower after city residents pushed for the county's tower to be built above the Hollywood Circ building.
"Coastal uplands. The only one left. Why is the county pushing this issue?" Hollywood resident Nancy Fowler asked.
Hollywood and West Lake Park area residents said they want the tower, just not in their backyard.
Skeptical of the process' transparency, they also said in Monday's meeting that they're concerned about the environmental and ecological effects of the tower’s construction -- effects they said the expert report didn't take into account.
Some are also questioning if the construction is even legal, saying a provision doesn't allow for construction on parks that don't serve park purposes. The county skirted that provision with a possible municipal land swap with the city of Tamarac.
"The county wants to get to the finish line. We've always talked about that. We want to get something done," Broward County attorney Andrew J. Myers said.
City leaders said any delay is only because the county is pushing bad deals.
"We have been kind of personified as the bad guys because we don't want to put a tower in our city to protect everybody in Broward County, and that is by far the least of our concern," Hollywood Vice Mayor Traci Callari said. "We want to do what's right for everyone."