02-07-11 Special Called Regular Meeting and Workshop Meeting of the La Porte Development Corporation Board of Directors

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Radio Presentation • As we are all aware, the Bayshore Sun ceased operations October, 2010. With it, a major communication source for our community disappeared. • In December of 2010, Congress passed and the President signed the Community Radio Act. This law greatly expanded the ability of communities to obtain the licenses needed to construct and operate low power FM radio stations. These stations are non profit, non commercial, and are limited to no more than 100 watts. They must be up and operating within three years after approval is given. • The FCC has the authority for approvals and is currently involved in the re- writing of the regulations. Congressman Pete Olson's office was nice enough to let me speak directly with the FCC's audio division. In those conversations I was told that the new rules would probably not be available by the end of the calendar year. • When applying for a license, the FCC opens a "window "for applications and then closing the window after a week. Anyone applying for a license should have already contacted an attorney in Washington and have the application ready to be filed way in advance. The cost of such action will approximate $5,000. There are no application fees at this time for these types of stations. • Along with an application for the license, a construction permit is required for the FCC to review the location and the equipment. As discussed earlier these permits have a maturity of three years for obtaining the equipment and begin broadcasting. An approximate cost would be $100,000. The location of the transmitter would reach the ball fields on Canada Road. The limit on the transmitter would be 7 miles and could be "phased "for the square miles needed. It is further expected that the staffing would be all volunteers. Internet Radio • The United currently practices "net neutrality", which simply means anyone can stream information on the net, i.e. no license required. • An internet radio station could be up and running within 30 days at a cost less than $5,000. • This would be an excellent approach to our problem in that prior to a low power radio approval we could begin the process of marketing and programming. A timeline of operation could be August 1 , before the start of football season.