LAKE COUNTY — Community radio station KPFZ 88.1 FM asked the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday for $30,000 to match federal grant money in order to secure the station”s spot in the local media arena.
Volunteer-run radio station KPFZ 88.1 got a construction permit in April of 2005 from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to get the station on the air. They have until April of 2008 to get it up and running or the chance to increase its broadcasting range will be lost, according to Station Manager Andy Weiss.
“If we don”t do it by then, there most likely will never be a community station in Lake County,” said Weiss.
KPFZ is run by local all-volunteer, nonprofit organization Lake County Community Radio (LCCR), and occupies the 104.5 FM frequency on the radio dial right now. It reaches Lakeport, Lucerne and Nice, but not all of Lake County”s residents can tune in. According to Weiss, the station will apply for their 500-watt license after the 88.1 FM frequency is on the air.
Part of the limitation is that the current frequency only allows for up to a 100-Watt power usage. LCCR acquired a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for low-power FM, and has been transmitting from a private residence in Lucerne since 2001.
What LCCR wants to do is transmit its signal from a tower atop Mount Konocti and increase its Wattage to 500. That, said Weiss, would allow KPFZ to reach not only all of Lake County, but also parts of four surrounding counties.
Weiss said the station currently reaches about 10,000 people at its 1,300-foot elevation in Lucerne; atop Mount Konocti and with the 500-watt usage it would reach close to a quarter of a million.
Then there”s the problem of getting permission to use the tower, which transmits most of Lake County”s other media signals, including LCTV, PEG and Yuba College.
The Fowler Family owns Buckingham Peak, where the existing tower sits, along with a larger tower used by Edge Wireless and some other smaller towers. Some unresolved legal issues are standing in the way of KPFZ getting the required permission to use the tower, although Weiss said all parties involved support the station”s use of the tower.
“Our attorney has to be assured that we will be able to pin a deal,” said Weiss. That hasn”t happened yet, but LCCR recently approached Peter Windrem, the Fowlers” attorney, to further negotiations.
Although Windrem could not be reached by phone on Tuesday, he expressed confidence in October that the legal issues were nearing resolution.
“If we had the money and the OK on tower, it would take six months to get the station on the air,” said Weiss.
The BOS decided to table the matter until its Feb. 13 meeting, when LCCR will discuss its business plan in more detail.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
