[Imc-radio] WRFU: Welcome, News, First Meeting ?Tuesday, January 20, 7pm?

[Mike Lehman]

First of all, welcome everyone to the revived Radio Free Urbana email list.

Second, we will remain RFU, because the FCC granted us the callsign, 
WRFU-LP, at my request. I took this action because Radio Free Urbana is 
where the idea started for a number of people interested in LPFM locally.

Third, after a brief presentation of an initial proposal written by me 
after consultation with members of both Socialist Forum and the 
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, the IMC approved entering 
into talks toward a final agreement with SF to build and operate the 
station. The IMC also agreed to be fiscal sponsor of the WRFU project, 
meaning that all contributions to the station are tax-deductible to the 
extent provided by law. SF will take up the initial proposal at its Jan. 
17 meeting at the IMC, 3-5pm.

Fourth, an anonymous donor has agreed to contribute a matching donation 
of $2,500 to build WRFU. Since the minimum budget for the station is 
$10,000 and the maximum budget for the station is $20,000, this means we 
are already between one-eighth and one-quarter of the way to financing 
WRFU.

Of course, fundraising is a process that we will revisit soon, but let's 
get organized first. First we need to have a kick-off meeting to 
organize the basic outline of what we need to do to build a station. I 
am proposing a date of Tuesday, January 20, 7pm at the IMC for a first 
meeting.

PLEASE LET ME HEAR FROM YOU whether or not Tuesdays at 7pm is a good 
time for the majority of those interested to continue meeting, along 
with any alternate proposed days/times. Although we have 18 months (and 
ticking) to build WRFU, this means we actually have a rather short 
timetable in which to organize, fundraise, order equipment, arrange 
permits, build, and test WRFU. This will take a series of regular 
meetings, probably every other week, until the station is ready to begin 
operating. At that point, general meetings will only need to occur 
monthly or bi-monthly.

Below will be found the initial proposal that I made to the IMC, along 
with background info on the project to this point. The final shape of 
this agreement needs to be concluded ASAP, so we need input on it, 
either over email or at the Jan. 20 meeting.

An agenda for Jan. 20 meeting itself will be circulated later, so please 
send me any items you feel should be on it. I intend to prioritize 
suggestions, however, so that this construction project gets off to a 
quickly organized start, so any issues raised about the eventual 
operation and programming of WRFU once it goes on the air will likely be 
delayed until a later meeting.

Finally, for those of you who are not on the WRFU list, you can sign up 
for the list at this link:
http://lists.cu.groogroo.com/cgi-bin/listinfo/rfu

In general, I won't be duplicating WRFU lists messages to either SF or 
IMC lists (like this one was) unless it's on issues that specifically 
affect or involve those groups. If you want to keep up with WRFU 
happenings, you should subscribe to the WRFU list. By following this 
policy, I hope to keep the number of duplicate emails you receive to an 
absolute minimum.

For a very few people who were on the old RFU list and who had requested 
no mail, I turned it back on to send just this one message to let you 
know that it's time to finally build RFU. I will be turning your mail 
back off and you will need to go to the provided link to adjust your own 
email settings after receiving this message.

If anyone has any problems getting on or dealing with the WRFU list that 
can't be settled through the link above by yourself, please send me a 
personal email, as I will be the administartor (with Zach as a backup.)
Regards,
Mike Lehman

WRFU Low Power FM Radio Station Project Initial Proposal

Background: Socialist Forum (SF) applied for a low power FM (LPFM) radio 
station license in the fall of 2000, along with several other local 
progressive groups. This was just before the Urbana-Champaign 
Independent Media Center (UC IMC) was created, but it has always been 
understood that whoever eventually won a LPFM license from the FCC would 
desire to locate its studio and cooperate with the IMC in the operation 
of the station. SF was the only progressive group to follow-up with an 
amended application that allowed it to find a usable local frequency 
when a window was opened in the fall of 2002 for such amendments.

A Construction Permit (CP) was issued to SF in Dec. 2003 that requires 
construction of a LPFM station on the frequency 104.5 FM, with initial 
operation by no later than 19 June 2005. SF recently applied for and 
received the callsign, WRFU-LP, from the FCC for the station. Holding a 
CP is tantamount to holding the actual broadcasting license, which will 
be issued as soon as we notify the FCC that we are ready to begin 
broadcasting. Due to FCC regulations, SF must remain the license holder 
– the license cannot be transferred to any other party.

SF is an private association under Illinois law. It may be possible for 
SF to become incorporated as a non-profit corporation, an issue that 
will be explored, but which will not happen if the resulting entity 
would be considered as a different party for the purposes of holding the 
non-transferable license by the FCC. In any case, the radio station 
license is the only asset (other than a very small bank account for 
outreach and education purposes) that SF has.

SF has intended all along for WRFU to be a community asset and views the 
IMC as the ideal partner with which to operate the station, given the 
IMC’s record of mobilization of community resources. SF wishes to 
achieve an agreement that will allow it and the IMC to become partners 
in operating the station, with SF retaining all legal responsibility to 
operate the station in accord with FCC regulations.

As part of this agreement, SF wishes the IMC to become the fiscal 
sponsor of the station so that any monies involved can be properly 
accounted for as a non-profit under IRS regulations and so that 
donations to build and operate WRFU can be tax-deductible for the donors.

Structure: SF must retain ultimate responsibility for its obligations 
under the license issued by the FCC for WRFU and must retain veto power 
over the operation of the station, but also desires to make the station 
available in the broadest fashion to the progressive community by 
delegating day-to-day management of the station to a community board. 
The UC IMC has an interest in expanding the media resources available to 
the community by way of the consensus organization model and thus can 
serve as the appropriate entity by which to most effectively and 
equitably allocate use of the resources provided by SF via WRFU.

A joint station operating board, called the WRFU Broadcasting Board 
(BB), will be constituted of equal numbers of members from both SF and 
the UC IMC. The BB will be considered the agent of SF for purposes of 
day-to-day operations of the station in accordance with FCC regulations. 
It will have no less than three members from each group. At its 
discretion and agreement, this board may add community members in 
numbers up to a number equal to those allocations on the original board, 
i.e. changing it from 50% SF/50% UC IMC members to 33% SF/33% UC IMC/33% 
community members.

This BB will operate by consensus procedure in accord with UC IMC’s 
current practice. If the UC IMC consensus procedures in use change, the 
BB may adopt the new practices by consensus or will otherwise retain the 
previously existing procedure. Thus, SF will retain the ultimate veto 
over station operations required of it because of its responsibility to 
the FCC as the licensee, while the BB will operate in accord with the 
consensus model typical of UC IMC practice.

The BB will meet at least every other month. It has the authority to 
construct the station and delegate various aspects of day-to-day station 
operations, in accordance with FCC and other pertinent government 
regulations, to individuals and groups as its chooses to designate and 
allocate. These shall include, but are not limited to, programming, 
personnel, fundraising, maintenance, and outreach. SF will retain 
ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the station operates in 
accordance with FCC regulations, but SF can delegate its authority to 
enforce compliance with all FCC regulations on a day-to-day basis to its 
designated agent, the BB.

WRFU members of the station will be anyone who is a member of either, or 
both, SF and UC IMC, in accord with their respective membership 
practices. All BB meetings are open to WRFU members, but the BB may, at 
its sole discretion as it sees necessary, choose to include or exclude 
members of the public. Only WRFU members will be allowed to work as 
airshifters and they will be responsible in observing and operating in 
compliance with all applicable FCC regulations. Members of the public 
will only be allowed access to WRFU’s studio, transmitter, and tower 
under the supervision of at least one WRFU member, except as the BB may 
provide as needed for proper maintenance of the station.

All station finances will be conducted under the 501c3 fiscal 
sponsorship of the UC IMC. SF will contribute its FCC license and 
goodwill to the station. UC IMC will contribute its expertise in 
volunteer organization and media production, studio, transmitter, and 
tower space, and all necessary equipment to the station. Expenses that 
the BB will incur in constructing and operating the station will be paid 
by public and private donations to the WRFU fund of the UC IMC. All 
broadcasting equipment and other station financial assets will remain 
the property of UC IMC.

SF and UC IMC will conclude a joint station mission statement prior to 
this agreement going into force.

This agreement will go into effect when approved by the officers of SF 
and the Steering Group of UC IMC. It may be terminated on six months 
notice by either party, but will otherwise remain in effect indefinitely.