Blue Sky Broadcasting seeks county lease for 85‑foot AM antenna at Upland transfer station; commissioners ask for legal and safety review

Blue Sky Broadcasting asked the Bonner County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 7 for permission to lease a small parcel at the Upland transfer station to install an 85‑foot AM antenna and an 8‑by‑8 equipment shelter to restore KSPT AM’s licensed coverage of Sandpoint.

The proposal, presented by co-owners Kim Benefield and Dylan Benefield, was described as a low‑profile, non‑colocatable fiberglass whip antenna set in a concrete base with buried copper radials. Bob Howard, director of the county Solid Waste Department, opened the workshop and summarized the request as a proposal the board could consider and pass to legal for review.

The Benefields said the installation would use newer hybrid AM antenna technology and would operate at the station’s licensed power — about 1,000 watts day and 1,000 watts night — to match the station’s required coverage. Kim Benefield said, “We have operated KSPT AM since early 1983,” and that the station needs a site after losing its previous lease. Dylan Benefield added, “AM stations have been dying across the nation,” and said the antenna would help prevent the station from going dark and preserve local news, weather and emergency alerts.

Commissioners and staff focused on three practical issues: public‑safety and radio‑frequency exposure from microwave links, the site’s fall zone and future expansion of the transfer station, and lease terms and legal constraints. A commissioner (name not stated) said they would “like to have more information” on “health and safety aspects of the frequencies, the power levels,” and asked for details showing the microwave or other studio‑link options would not pose a hazard to nearby residents. The Benefields said the microwave hop would be low‑power and, if necessary, could be replaced with cellular hotspot or wired service; they also described the microwave antennas as narrow, point‑to‑point dishes and said the FCC authorizes low power for those links.

County staff raised planning and operational concerns tied to the transfer station layout. Commissioners asked whether the antenna’s fall radius or the equipment shelter could limit future expansion; Howard and the applicants said the proposed antenna base and portable shelter are removable and that a lease could be structured in five‑year renewable increments so the county could reclaim the site for future solid‑waste needs if necessary.

Several commissioners recommended legal review before the county makes any formal commitment. Howard told the board the county would route a more detailed proposal — including elevations, a refined site plan showing the shelter location, and preferred lease terms — to county legal and planning staff for opinion. Howard also said that an official statement that the county is “open to finding more information out about it and discussing further” would help the station secure temporary extensions from the FCC to maintain interim authorization.

No formal motion or vote was recorded at the workshop. Commissioners indicated support for continuing the conversation provided the Benefields deliver a more detailed site plan, technical data on microwave and radio emissions, and proposed lease language for legal review.

The applicants identified possible local benefits beyond broadcasting: potential revenue to the Solid Waste Department from a lease and an ancillary role for emergency communications, but they and county staff made clear those possibilities would require separate coordination with emergency agencies and additional review.

Next steps recorded during the meeting were that Blue Sky Broadcasting will prepare an upgraded proposal with elevations, a proposed lease term (the applicants said they prefer the maximum allowable term, acknowledging the county’s typical multiyear renewal approach), and technical information about transmission power and studio links; county staff will submit that material to county legal and planning staff for review and return with recommendations to the board.