PORT TOWNSEND — Two nonprofit FM stations not yet broadcasting from Port Townsend hope to be on the air soon, with Radio Port Townsend KPTZ aiming at the end of March and Christian radio KROH hoping to be in full operation in December or soon after.
“Everything is in place for us to move ahead,” said Colin Foden, board president for KPTZ 91.9 FM, Community Radio for the Quimper Peninsula, which plans a public radio model and format with a mix of news and entertainment — all geared to Port Townsend and environs.
“I expect we will be on the air at the end of March” at the latest, he said.
Foden, along with engineer Bill Putney, addressed the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce meeting Monday, an address originally scheduled for Nov. 22 but canceled because of weather.
“We are hoping to get volunteers from all levels of the community,” he said.
“We will not be able to do it alone.”
The station — which would be next door to nonprofit KSQM-FM in Sequim — hopes to broadcast around the clock, and this “takes a lot of programming,” Foden said.
The station — which has a studio at Mountain View Commons, 1919 Blaine St. — this month finished permitting processes with the Federal Communications Commission, the state, county and city — after receiving its broadcasting permit in 2007 and its construction permit in 2008.
“We’ve just cleared all the regulatory hurdles, so we’re poised to buy [broadcasting] equipment,” and the group already has ordered the tower that will go up on Jacob Miller Road.
“The only thing that’s going to be a problem will be the weather,” which has to clear before the tower can be erected, Foden said.
Founders of the Christian radio station KROH 91.1 FM, Radio of Hope for Northwest Washington, also are awaiting better weather to erect a tower on Maynard Peak, near Discovery Bay.
Programs have been available on the station’s website at www.radioofhope.org/index.php since September.
The station hopes to begin broadcasting from its studio at 1505 Franklin St. in Port Townsend in December or soon after, said Glenn Gately, operating board chairman of the nonprofit station owned by the Port Townsend Seventh Day Adventist Church, which received an FCC construction permit in 2009.
“We’re working toward it,” Gately said Friday. “This snow has slowed us down.
“It is possible that we will be on the air this year, but things would have to click,” he added.
Radio Port Townsend’s license is for a 2,000-watt transmitter, but “we don’t need 2,000 watts, so we scaled down to about 900,” Foden said.
“We’re still a full-power FM station,” he added.
The station’s signal will be “as extensive as we can get it,” focusing on East Jefferson County, covering Port Townsend and nearby areas, as well as Chimacum and possibly Quilcene, Foden said.
It will extend east to Sequim, with reception possible in Port Angeles, he added.
“The challenge is for us is that the topography in our area is really difficult,” Foden said. “You can miss spots just because they are in a dip.”
The 1,150-watt KROH Christian radio station is expected to be heard all over East Jefferson County and at least as far west as Port Angeles, although Gately said, “I’m praying for Neah Bay.”
Its directional pattern travels to the northeast, across Puget Sound to the Cascades and to Vancouver Island. Gately also hopes it will be heard in Seattle and Vancouver, Wash.
The Christian radio programming is a combination of music, gospel and programs on parenting, marriage enrichment and health, Gately said.
KPTZ “will broadcast programs that you won’t be able to hear anywhere else,” Foden said.
“We will produce programs that reflect the Port Townsend community, and since Port Townsend is an eclectic community, we will have eclectic content.”
KPTZ will offer listeners interactive opportunities on local issues, and musicians will tape shows or broadcast live.
Foden said the station “will be tied into emergency services, so people can get on their car radios and battery-operated radios information they couldn’t get otherwise.”
Christian radio KROH also will be tied into emergency services.
Bob Hamlin, Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management’s program manager, said last week his department is working with both fledging stations to have direct broadcasts from the emergency operations center during severe weather or other crises.
While KROH already provides streaming audio on the Internet, KPTZ is building an archive and plans soon to offer podcasts of shows, samples of what it will be offering.
In the future, it also will be available online at KPTZ’s website, www.kptz.org, but that will come when volunteers familiar with streaming technology join the staff.
Among the archival programming is program director and National Public Radio veteran Larry Stein’s coverage of the ferry Chetzemoka’s maiden voyage Nov. 14.
Stein worked for NPR in California and has worked as a producer at public radio stations in Santa Monica and Seattle for more than 10 years.
In addition to Foden and Stein, KPTZ is directed by Collin Brown, Ann Katzenbach and Bill Putney.
The success of the station depends on volunteer labor, since only one paid position — the station manager — is now planned.
Foden thinks that volunteers will eagerly join in.
“There are a lot of talented people in Port Townsend,” Foden said. “Once they hear what we are doing, they will come in with their ideas and want to contribute.”
Both stations are soliciting donations, which are tax-deductible.
The total cost of the KPTZ setup is $200,000, Foden said.
A grant from the Public Telecommunication and Facilities Program pays $3 for each $1 the station raises from private donations, up to a total of $150,000.
“Our target is to raise $50,000 by the end of the year,” with $25,000 of that needed to satisfy the terms of the grant, Foden said.
The rest will go to operating costs and other expenses.
Foden said the group probably has about $15,000 of its target amount in hand.
Christian radio KROH’s estimated start-up costs are $150,000, Gately said.
According to its website, it had raised $47,529 by Nov. 11.
“We could use more money if anyone wants to donate,” he said.
Radio Port Townsend donations can be made online at www.kptz.org, or checks can be sent by mail to Radio Port Townsend, P.O. Box 2091, Port Townsend, WA 98368.
KROH donations can be made online or by mail, with checks sent to KROH — Radio of Hope, P.O. Box 1882, Port Townsend, WA 98368
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.