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Ocean Shores station discusses tower backup, fiber, underwriting and merchandising plans
Summary
KOSW station staff reported on fiber options, the need for battery backup at the hilltop transmitter, recent event damage and underwriting/merchandise plans; the board left the battery decision as continuing old business and asked staff to return with more information.
Station staff reported progress on several operational fronts and flagged a persistent limitation on the station’s emergency reach: the main hilltop tower lacks backup power.
Butch, who delivered the station report, said he is exploring fiber service to the studio to improve streaming reliability and phone backups. “If we had fiber in there, it'd be a lot more consistent,” Butch told the board, describing intermittent streaming and phone issues at the studio during peak storms.
The meeting returned to a prior discussion about purchasing battery backup for the mountain transmitter. Financial documents reviewed during the meeting indicated unspent funds from a prior tower project; the transcript shows the board noting roughly $133,000 remaining in the account, but the board did not approve a battery purchase at Tuesday’s meeting. Members left the battery-backup item in old business and asked staff (including Marty, the technology lead who is coordinating tower contacts) to report back with firm proposals and cost estimates next month.
Butch described the current contingency arrangement: if power fails at the hilltop site, the station must switch to a local backup transmitter that runs at about 100 watts and covers roughly a one-mile radius. “I don’t really wanna say we are the emergency station because until we have backup for the tower, we can’t get out to every resident in Ocean Shores,” Butch said.
Board members discussed the IGA Tower as a possible long-term site and noted access challenges to the current hilltop location. They also raised the possibility of solar recharging for battery systems, and the mayor and other city staff were referenced as partners to work with on the funding and logistics.
On revenue and operations, Butch reported web traffic and volunteer metrics: the station averages about 600–800 website visits per day, nearly 1,700 Facebook followers, 22 active volunteers, and approximately 90 hours of community live programming per week. Underwriting sales remain seasonal; the board discussed underwriting pricing research and a proposed memorandum of understanding with North Beach Independent Media to handle sales and to receive limited rights to use the KOSW logo for merchandising and resale.
Board members asked staff to refine underwriting averages (Butch said an initial per-spot estimate calculated to about $0.28 based on a sample day, and staff will produce a multi-month average for the next meeting) and to return with a draft memorandum of understanding that would clarify whether North Beach Independent Media would be the exclusive agent for underwriting sales and use rights to the station's logo.
The meeting also included operational notes about recent field events: the Razor Clam Festival tent was severely damaged by high winds, which reduced net revenue from festival sales and prompted equipment checks for possible damage.
The board did not take formal action to purchase equipment or to change the tower rental agreement; items on tower battery backup and the IGA Tower remain active old-business items to be revisited at a future meeting.
