Nov LSB Meeting in Fresno: Violation of Bylaws?

On the eve of the monthly KPFA Local Station Board meeting, scheduled for Saturday November 8th in Fresno, some late-breaking communications have been sent to the Pacifica National Board pointing out the illegality of the LSB meeting outside of the station's service area.

Per an excerpt from the Pacifica Foundation's own Bylaws:

http://www.pacifica.org/governance/PacificaBylaws-new.html

Article Seven, Section 6 (B) - TIME AND PLACE:

"The LSB shall establish, by majority vote, the time and place of each meeting...MEETINGS SHALL BE HELD WITHIN THE LOCAL RADIO STATION AREA in facilities of sufficient size to accommodate Members affiliated with that radio station and the public, preferably in the station."

Writes one listener to the PNB:
"Your committee noticed an illegal meeting. While fresno is within the service area of associate station KFCF, it is not within the KPFA service area."

Good point. Shouldn't this have been considered before scheduling?

Additional Supporting Info

- From KPFA's 'Public File' directory on its own website,
is the engineering contour map defining KPFA's primary signal area: [link]
http://kpfa.org/publicfile/kpfa/Service%20Contour%20Map/54dbu.gif

- Compare the signal area's reach in relation to Fresno using the 'zoom out' feature on this map: [link]
http://recnet.com/cdbs/goo_curves.php?data=37.865|122.22|59|405|54|0|231|0|1


...and also compare with KPFA's extended reach via its Translator locations: [link]
http://recnet.com/cdbs/fxmap.php?lat=37.865&lon=122.22&facid=51246&zoom=3.0&super=Y


- Here is an estimated engineering contour for KFCF's signal area [link]
http://recnet.com/cdbs/goo_curves.php?data=37.073|119.431|2.4|579|60|0|201|0|1


While KFCF does carry some Pacifica and KPFA programming, neither the station's original FCC license nor its last approved applications on file with the FCC, include any waiver authorizations granting KFCF permission to operate it's primary studio outside of the community of license:

Per KFCF's 1981 application: [link]
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_list.pl?Application_id=18468


KFCF's license renewal in 2005 (Granted) [link 2]
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101058044&formid=303&fac_num=22641


Given the available information, holding the LSB meetings outside of the signal area of licensed Pacifica stations is appearing not to be a good idea. Hopefully the Directors of the Pacifica Foundation and its FCC consultants will quickly consider the potential violation, and instruct the LSB accordingly to operate in compliance of its Bylaws, as well as within all State and Federal laws.


Pending a determination, it is yet hoped that the raising of such issues are understood as no intended slight to listeners and colleagues in the KFCF Fresno listening area...

On the contrary: since many KFCF listeners are also KPFA members and supporters, the Fresno community deserves to be appropriately served and represented, and be allowed its due input in the station's program offerings, governance, and setting standards of performance and accountability for station management.

Worth considering, for example, could be a re-constitution of both the Program Council as well as the Community Advisory Board, so as to help assure community representation and participation towards the decision making process for Programming.

Alternately, perhaps there ought to be community forum meetings, such as having folks from the SF Bay Area convene with counterparts in the Central Valley for a Summit to explore and formulate recommendations for a more healthier, relevant and community-friendly operation and program offerings. And actually, given the manner in which the LSB currently operates, such fori or summits could be more conducive and productive towards such efforts, and certainly more welcoming to community input.

For those with outstanding concerns about these and other related issues,
the PNB can be reached via email: pnb@pacifica.org


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Reach Media Justice: KPFA at: MediaJusticeKPFA @ gmail.com