January 14, 2010 KSDP Board Meeting Minutes

Aleutian Peninsula Broadcasting, Inc.

KSDP Radio   PO Box 328   Sand Point, Alaska 99661   Phone: (907) 383-5737   Fax: (907) 383-5271

Meeting of the Board of Directors

Sand Point School Library Conference Room

Thursday, January 14, 2010

8:00 P.M.

MEETING MINUTES

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 8:02 p.m. by Chairman Robbe Gilmour.

Roll Call

Board members present: Robbe Gilmour – Chairman; Marta Varga – Vice President / Secretary / Treasurer; Jim Brown – Board member; Joanna Karlsen – Board member

Board members excused: Jack Foster, Jr. – Board member

KSDP staff present: Kells Hetherington – General Manager; Virgil Porter – Music Director; Shannon Sommer – Administrative Assistant

Approval of Agenda

Robbe moved to approve the agenda, Marta seconded the motion. The motion passed.

Approval of Minutes

The minutes from the previous meeting were absent.  Robbe moved to approve the minutes from the meeting before last.  Marta seconded the motion.  The motion passed.

Report from the General Manager

Kells explained that the radio station had secured just under thirty thousand dollars from the Alaska Capital Grant Round V Program.  He said that the award announcement was made a couple of days before Christmas.  The grant will be used for specific projects: the purchase of new production studio furniture, the rearrangement of furniture in the on-air studio, the purchase of a new radio console for the on-air studio, a re-snaking of the computer network, the acquisition of furniture and building material items (including filing cabinets, two glass doors for the on-air and production studios) and computers for the outer office area and GM office, as well a replacement computer for the production studio.

As discussed during the application process, the money is not free.  The station must invest more than ten thousand dollars in the renovation project in order to receive the grant.  Ten percent of the grant money will flow to the station immediately upon the Board’s signing the grant agreement.  The balance will come as projects are completed and paid invoices are submitted.

Last spring, Kells secured a three year agreement with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to maintain KSDP’s sole service designation.  The designation means we will continue to receive the twenty five thousand dollar bonus grant from CPB.  Additionally, this year, the designation means that the station will receive sixteen thousand dollars.  The bonus is part of a special stimulus program CPB is administering.  CPB obtained a total of twenty five million dollars from congress for its own stimulus program.  If the funds were distributed on an equal basis to all qualifying licenses, each one would receive roughly four thousand dollars.

Kells spoke with Gary Hennigh, King Cove’s City Manager.  Gary expects King Cove will support the installation of the FM translator in King Cove.  Kells had already been in touch with the offices of State Senator Lyman Hoffman and State Representative Bryce Edgmon.  As a result of those conversations, the legislators are providing the station with an opportunity to apply for inclusion in the FY 2011 State Capital Budget.

Old / New Business

Kells and Chuck Lakaytis spoke about the King Cove translator installation cost estimate.  The Board viewed the estimate.  Hennigh’s comment was that it didn’t seem like a lot of money, and that the City could probably cover it.  Kells thinks KSDP can get the money from the City of King Cove, or in the state capital budget.

The Board looked at the Alaska Public Broadcasting, Inc. Round V Capital Grant award.  Robbe suggested the station buy a better scanner rather than new filing cabinets.  Marta had questions about the cost of glass doors.  The network cable re-snaking, Ethernet port additions and rewiring were then discussed.  Jim said the number one priority is the King Cove translator fix.  Kells said that King Cove is about a forty thousand dollar project.  Next, the Board reviewed the budget.  They all thought that the balance sheet looked much improved.

The reason so much money was paid to the Associated Press last fiscal year is that some of it was applied to the current fiscal year.  Robbe asked where on the income line NOAA’s payments were showing up and proposed that the money be saved for future equipment needs.  Kells explained that we have not started to receive payments from NOAA.  Kells said those payments will start soon.

Robbe entertained a motion to put ten percent of the sixteen thousand dollar one time stimulus payment into a saving account.  Robbe also called for ten percent of all unrestricted grants to be placed in savings.  Joanna moved to approve the motion. Marta seconded it.  The motion passed.

The Board set aside fourteen thousand dollars of the onetime stimulus payment to meet the required Round V Capital grant match.  Since the budget had never been approved for the current fiscal year, the Board approved the budget as shown.

Next on the agenda was the tower light.  Kells told the Board that the tower light stopped working about two and a half weeks ago.  Kells would like to have either John Leigh, or Art Torres climb the tower to replace the bulb.

Kells mentioned that we had a lot of interest from volunteers.

KSDP staff reminded the Board about the Foraker Group training next week.

Another pizza fundraiser is also in the works.

Public Comments & Discussion

No Public Comments & Discussion

Next Meeting

The next Board meeting will be Thursday, March 11, 2010. 

Adjournment

Robbe moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:42 p.m.  Jim seconded the motion.  The motion passed.

Minutes submitted by Shannon Sommer, Administrative Assistant

Minutes reviewed by Kells Hetherington, General Manager