| A. | | | Opening |
| 1. | | Call to order |
| | |
President Cole called the meeting to order at 5:06 pm.
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| 2. | | Attendance |
| | |
Board members present:
Blazek,
Cole,
Katzenstein,
Longo,
Manos,
Middlemiss,
Starr,
Wetzel
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| | |
Board members absent:
Ash
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| | |
Visitors:
Ron Garback,
Roy Mayhugh
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| 3. | | Approval of minutes |
| | |
The minutes of the June 1 meeting were approved with one correction (Wetzel
moved, Manos 2nd, passed on a voice vote with 7 ayes, none opposed, no
abstentions).
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| 4. | | Treasurer's report |
| | |
Katzenstein distributed the final report for May.
No income was reported for the month; expenditures totaled $956, including $846
for insurance and $110 for telephone service (2 months).
Balances in all accounts at the end of May totaled $21,730.
Preliminary results for June included income of $180 in donations, offsetting
expenditures of $184 to reserve booth space for Santa's Art Shop and $220 to
renew membership in the National Translator Association (NTA).
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| 5. | | Correspondence |
| | |
Permission was received from the FCC to keep our Channel 41 transmitter silent
for the present.
(It is currently not in use following the DTV transition at Laurel Mtn.)
Also, an ominous letter was received from the state Attorney General's Registry
of Charitable Trusts (dated June 26) warning of possible fines and other dire
consequences due to the lack of annual Form RRF-1 filings for consecutive
fiscal years dating back to 2002.
The Booster was given 30 days to respond.
Starr volunteered to research the issue and communicate with the state.
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| 6. | | Announcements |
| | |
Five board members represented the Booster at the June 3 Rotary Club luncheon.
Thanks to Patti Wharton's sponsorship, we were honored with the club's
Vocational Service Award for service to the community.
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| 7. | | Review of calendar and agenda |
| | |
The Booster will have to miss the July 13 first-round deadline for NTIA
digital-conversion grant applications; see item E-1 Discussion below.
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| B. | | | Committee reports |
| 1. | | Standing committees |
| | b. | Operations |
| | |
The Digital TV Transition was successfully completed at Laurel Peak on June 12.
KLCS is now a stable, reliable signal.
At 'B' Mountain, however, analog channels 13 (KCOP) and 14 (KCET) are still
problematic but believed fixable with notch filters on the receiver side.
Also of concern at 'B' Mountain is the failure of power supplies in 3 of the 8
new digital converters (STB's) we recently acquired; Mr. Mayhugh will be in
touch with their manufacturer.
Meanwhile, he is lending the use of some STB's of his own.
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| | c. | Publicity |
| | |
It was urged that we submit immediate press releases explaining what Laurel
Peak users can expect on June 12 and 13 (i.e., cessation of KABC and KCET
analog broadcasts and occasional interruptions of digital transmissions) and
what they must do (i.e., rescan for new channels), at the same time noting that
low-power analog broadcasting will continue from B Mountain, albeit with some
interruptions during that weekend.
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| 4. | | Web site committee |
| | |
Cole reported having brought the Booster web site up to date.
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| C. | | | Old business |
| 1. | |
Another interesting offer was received from the owner of an Antelope Valley FM
station, involving the possible reassignment of one of our radio translation
frequencies to that programming source; a financial consideration was involved.
Aside from potential legal issues, it remains the board's consensus that we
have no surplus frequencies at this time.
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| E. | | | Discussion items |
| 1. | | NTIA Grant Snag |
| | |
Katzenstein and Middlemiss presented the bad news that we probably cannot
qualify for any of the NTIA digital-conversion equipment grants we had expected
to apply for (involving a substantial loss of anticipated working capital).
In the course of following the on-line application procedures, it was
discovered that the NTIA has introduced a prohibitive "rurality" constraint:
the Booster's Laurel Peak transmitter service contours appear to include too
much of incorporated Ridgecrest to pass this "60-percent" test (with the
possible exception of Channel 49).
Further research will determine whether use of Longley-Rice methodology might
form the basis of an appeal.
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| F. | | | Closure |
| 1. | |
Next meeting: 5:00 PM,
August 3, 2009,
Vaughn Realty Meeting Room, Ridgecrest
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| 2. | |
Adjournment:
There being no further business, President Cole adjourned the meeting at 6:40
pm.
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