Ashland Select Board Rejects Cell Tower Buyout, Directs Lease Renegotiation

Board of Selectmen · Meeting of July 6, 2026

Ashland Select Board rejects cell tower buyout offers from KKR and moves toward renegotiation. The board, meeting Monday with all five members present, declined three buyout proposals from KKR, the investment firm that recently acquired a cell tower on town-owned property, concluding the offers were well below market value. The options ranged from a lump-sum payment of $275,000 to a 10-year installment totaling $325,000, all structured as perpetual leases with no revenue sharing if new equipment is added.

The town currently receives approximately $1,835 per month, roughly $22,000 per year, under a 15-year-old contract, while Town Manager Ron said comparable leases in the region run $30,000 to $40,000 annually or more. The board reached consensus to direct Ron to contact KKR and renegotiate the monthly rate, with research into comparable towers in neighboring communities underway before any counteroffer is made. The board also heard a public appeal from a town financial official identified as Becky to locate active trustees of the private Green Grove Cemetery, which the town is trying to reach in order to transfer more than $55,000 in trust funds it has been holding on the cemetery's behalf.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,611 words

Source: the Board of Selectmen meeting of July 6, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.