The FCC dismissed part of a proposed LPFM timeshare after one applicant listed the other’s broadcast tower as its desired antenna site without asking for permission first.
In Marion, about 45 miles north of Columbus, My Community Church and Marion Education Exchange were the tentative selectees of an LPFM MX group from the 2023 filing window. The stations would have needed to operate on a timeshare basis on 106.7 FM.
In its application, Marion Education Exchange listed a proposed antenna location on a tower adjacent to the Central Ohio Association of Christian Broadcasters’ headquarters in Marion.
This presented a couple of problems. First, the site is the same location from which My Community Church wishes to broadcast. Second, the education exchange never sought approval from the site’s owner, according to the FCC.
[Related: “Ohio LPFM Has Its License Yanked”]
Jonathan Aiken, the church’s deacon, is listed as the primary contact for My Community Church’s LPFM application. He is also the Central Ohio Association of Christian Broadcasters’ president. He filed an objection to the education exchange’s application, stating that no person representing the education exchange had ever contacted him. Aiken also told the Media Bureau that even if the education exchange had reached out, there was no available space for an antenna on the tower.
According to the FCC’s filings, the education exchange opposed Aiken’s objection. It conceded that it had not contacted him and it did not intend to use the tower in question. The exchange had considered using the tower but ultimately chose another location, stating it had inadvertently listed the association’s tower in its December 2023 filing.
In March 2024, Marion Education Exchange filed an amendment to its application, changing its proposed antenna location to a building on Delaware Ave. in Marion.
A second objection, filed by Spencer Phelps, argued that the education exchange’s application should be dismissed due to a failure to provide a letter of assurance regarding the availability of the Christian broadcasters’ tower, as required by FCC rules. Phelps also argued the education exchange was unqualified to be an FCC licensee, related to past violations with its operation of WWGH(LP), as Radio World has reported on in the past.
The commission did not consider Phelps’ objections in its ruling but stated if the education exchange submits a future application, his concerns will be reviewed.
The FCC moved to dismiss Marion Education Exchange’s application. The Media Bureau noted the education exchange admitted it had neither contacted Aiken nor intended to use his tower only after he filed the objection. “It is incontrovertible that MEE lacked reasonable assurance of the site identified in its initial application,” the Media Bureau wrote, deeming it as a “non-curable defect.”
Additionally, the education exchange’s new proposed broadcast location in Marion would have been short-spaced to 106.7 WZCB(FM) in Dublin, according to the commission.
As a result of the dismissal, My Community Church received a construction permit to build an LPFM station. It plans to operate at 100 watts ERP from the tower at the Central Ohio Association of Christian Broadcasters’ headquarters.
The nondenominational church intends to use the 106.7 LPFM station to expand its existing religious education programs.
