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City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Discussion pertaining to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Battle Creek, Big Rapids, and Michiana
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Colonel Flagg
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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by Colonel Flagg » Thu Nov 24, 2022 2:13 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Thu Nov 24, 2022 7:14 am
How the heck did WGHN not know the publicly owned utility company was sending them the wrong power bill for years on end? They know the rate per kW/h, right? They know the TPO, right? They should've been able to figure out very easily that they were being undercharged.

I guess I'm skeptical of WGHN's plea of being a victim.

The station's refutation of the city's claim that it has been subsidizing WGHN is silly, too. If the city is telling the truth regarding the utility bill situation, it clearly has been providing the station an unintended cash benefit by paying a very significant portion of its power bill.

Did WGHN have a legally binding agreement with the city in writing regarding the $1,000 per month installment arrangement toward paying down the utility arrearage? The station claims a Memorandum of Understanding was signed. It then goes on to say the MoU is unrelated to the lease but the station decided to discontinue making payments when the city claimed the radio station was in violation of the tower lease. Here's the thing - the term "MoU" is generally used to describe a non-binding outline of terms. It generally is not used to describe a legally enforceable agreement, such as a promissory note.

Were the $1,000 monthly payments discontinued because the city made demand for the full outstanding amount? If so, did the city have the right to make such payment demand? Those answers are unclear because the relevant documents have not been shared with the public.

Finally, the statement is not fully transparent regarding WMPA. Yes, WGHN, Inc. still owns it. Yes, LMAs are not uncommon. However, the fact is - a purchase and sale agreement is in place, the closing of which is subject to certain conditions precedent being satisfied (one of which is FCC approval). I suspect WGHN, Inc. would love for that divestiture to occur sooner rather than later.
The closing for WMPA has already been extended twice. As with much of these other issues, that doesn't look good.

It is still my belief that allowing the city to have authority over programming decisions on WGHN or WMPA, raises the potential for FCC questions about unauthorized transfer of control to some degree. The city is not a party to any LMA on either station.

The locally owned tower may be their best bet. I've seen how Vertical Bridge maintains (or doesn't) old legacy transmitter sites. Deferred maintenance, and blight are rampant in VB's tower portfolio. I personally know a station owner who's dealing with it right now.

I wonder, does Tieman own the AM site? How old is the AM tower?


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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by Robert Faygo » Thu Nov 24, 2022 2:44 pm

I'd guess Strong Tower is the impetus behind all this drama.

They've probably refused to close on the purchase until they get their own separate deal in place with the city concerning the tower lease arrangement and getting the electric bill for 93.1 switched over to them.

Once someone with Grand Haven was forced to actually pay attention, they figured out the utility billing problem and it's escalated from there.


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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by MWmetalhead » Fri Nov 25, 2022 8:46 am

I think that is certainly possible.

The thing is - if & when the sale to WMPA ever closes, then WGHN will have a nice pot of cash (assuming WGHN isn't providing seller financing over a long-term period). That cash should be used to repay debts, such as the utility bill arrearage.

Of course, WGHN, Inc. might owe lenders money, too, and they might have a perfected security interest in the sale proceeds of WMPA. So, a possible $420,000 future pot of money might actually be a much smaller pot of money after secured claimants are paid.

If it's true that WGHN, Inc. wanted to sit down with the city manager in an effort to negotiate a legally binding settlement and the city refused to meet (assuming WGHN didn't place unreasonable conditions on the meeting), then I will agree with Mr. Tieman that the city is being unreasonable in that regard.

I have a feeling this matter may ultimately wind up in a court room.



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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by Colonel Flagg » Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:39 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Fri Nov 25, 2022 8:46 am
I think that is certainly possible.

The thing is - if & when the sale to WMPA ever closes, then WGHN will have a nice pot of cash (assuming WGHN isn't providing seller financing over a long-term period). That cash should be used to repay debts, such as the utility bill arrearage.

Of course, WGHN, Inc. might owe lenders money, too, and they might have a perfected security interest in the sale proceeds of WMPA. So, a possible $420,000 future pot of money might actually be a much smaller pot of money after secured claimants are paid.

If it's true that WGHN, Inc. wanted to sit down with the city manager in an effort to negotiate a legally binding settlement and the city refused to meet (assuming WGHN didn't place unreasonable conditions on the meeting), then I will agree with Mr. Tieman that the city is being unreasonable in that regard.

I have a feeling this matter may ultimately wind up in a court room.
From the looks of things, I wouldn't be so sure they can afford the courtroom. Don't be shocked if Flaccid Tower backs out of the deal to buy WMPA. This is a big mess, and who wants to buy into that? On the other hand, does "Smilin' Ed" have a signal in Grand Haven? If not, he's probably already licking the windows of WGHN's darkened studio. :rollin

Just a wild guess, of course.


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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:20 am

A translator just east of Muskegon is the closest he's got. Its COL is Grand Haven, ironically.



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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by cckadlec » Sun Jan 29, 2023 10:51 pm

WGHN has come back on the air from a tower five miles further inland in Spring Lake. I don't check the radio quite as often during the winter, so while I believe it came on in the last day or two - I noticed a station with similar power yesterday that didn't sound like Hillsdale - it may have been a few more days. Here in Fremont, the signal is greatly reduced compared to before and struggles to come in with stereo even, but it's listenable on the portable either way. A decent signal. I'm not going out to the car to check its signal there. It's cold and nobody really cares enough for me to do that.

In its absence, where WGHN used to be a local for me, Radio Hillsdale was dominant here with Stacks also in well at times. Twister, VTY Country, Pulse, and Hot Country in Manitowoc were all in rather regularly as well. Funny that Hillsdale at over 100 miles was the most dominant. I suspect that during better conditions, some of these stations will come in on the side of WGHN better than they did before when it had a stronger signal. A little funny since the tower details show it probably should be stronger than when it was on Five Mile Hill, assuming they are at their full 6kw now.

As for 93.1, I used to listen to that nice open frequency in the past before that damn useless station came on in Grand Haven. It's back to being WIMK here at 192 miles with XRT quite regular as well. Not a darn thing has come in aside from those two every day, though I used to hear Detroit and Madison in the warmer weather back in the day. Strong Tower is NOT on the air at this time; only WGHN has returned to the air. But they have what looks like an identical modification for 93.1 from the same tower at the same power, etc. Just haven't yet come back on. Let's keep it that way. No reason to waste a frequency if the content isn't half worthwhile.


[ Radio and weather geeks, beware! Coastal tropo studies, the 3-hr. Seoul AM Radio Listening Guide, 6-hr. 500 Top-of-Hour IDs, and Chinese FM at www.chriskadlec.comTuner: Grundig G8 • Location: Fremont, Mich. ]

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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by MWmetalhead » Sun Jan 29, 2023 11:21 pm

Thanks for the info.

When WGHN-FM was off the air, Stacks could be heard pretty well in the car into Cascade Twp. That's a good 7 or 8 miles beyond its normal range.



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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by Localnewsisdead » Mon Jan 30, 2023 4:56 pm

Press release regarding the completion of WGHN's tower move...Image

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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:20 pm

So I assume the oldies format is back on 1370/94.9?



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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by jaywmi » Wed Feb 01, 2023 10:48 am

No, as of this writing, they are still broadcasting the same program on 94.9 and 1370 AM as well as 92.1.
ChrisWL1980 wrote:
Tue Jan 31, 2023 3:20 pm
So I assume the oldies format is back on 1370/94.9?



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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by cckadlec » Thu Mar 16, 2023 5:15 pm

93.1 is back on the air with Strong Tower now. I'm not sure what day they appeared on the air once again as I haven't paid very close attention - as a DXer, there is little reason to tune in until April - but it was certainly turned on quite recently.

The signal is poor, much like WGHN, but is worse than WGHN's new signal. I am 30 miles NE of the tower where the signal of both stations used to be strong enough to the point it was tough to hear much else on the frequencies, but both now have good nulls making it easy to hear others with the null of 93.1 much bigger and their signal far weaker to the point XRT will still be easy to hear.

All around, this is good news. While I like 92.1, I like being able to hear other stations for the sake of my hobby, so being able to have a local at its full power (I assume 93.1 is as well) and hear other stations... it's truly a winning situation. Neither being on the air would be better, but WGHN's long history as a station serving the community (though less nowadays than before), it would be a shame if they had turned off forever in the manner they did. 93.1 though... I could do without.


[ Radio and weather geeks, beware! Coastal tropo studies, the 3-hr. Seoul AM Radio Listening Guide, 6-hr. 500 Top-of-Hour IDs, and Chinese FM at www.chriskadlec.comTuner: Grundig G8 • Location: Fremont, Mich. ]

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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by ftballfan » Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:52 pm

cckadlec wrote:
Thu Mar 16, 2023 5:15 pm
93.1 is back on the air with Strong Tower now. I'm not sure what day they appeared on the air once again as I haven't paid very close attention - as a DXer, there is little reason to tune in until April - but it was certainly turned on quite recently.

The signal is poor, much like WGHN, but is worse than WGHN's new signal. I am 30 miles NE of the tower where the signal of both stations used to be strong enough to the point it was tough to hear much else on the frequencies, but both now have good nulls making it easy to hear others with the null of 93.1 much bigger and their signal far weaker to the point XRT will still be easy to hear.

All around, this is good news. While I like 92.1, I like being able to hear other stations for the sake of my hobby, so being able to have a local at its full power (I assume 93.1 is as well) and hear other stations... it's truly a winning situation. Neither being on the air would be better, but WGHN's long history as a station serving the community (though less nowadays than before), it would be a shame if they had turned off forever in the manner they did. 93.1 though... I could do without.
It'll also improve conditions at the beach as both 92.1 and 93.1 now broadcast from a few miles inland instead of right next to the beach



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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by cckadlec » Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:04 am

ftballfan wrote:
Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:52 pm
It'll also improve conditions at the beach as both 92.1 and 93.1 now broadcast from a few miles inland instead of right next to the beach
It surely will, though perhaps not as much in Grand Haven, but for sure up and down the lakeshore where both stations can be rather annoying. It will probably take them out almost entirely on many days being outside the lake breeze boundaries on some days. Back when Grand Haven City Beach was my main listening post, I could regularly hear Power 92 right beside the 92.1 tower. But then with 93.1 later added and then the local LPs creating additional interference/noise, it's a lot less likely nowadays than in year prior. I'm satisfied with their inland move.


[ Radio and weather geeks, beware! Coastal tropo studies, the 3-hr. Seoul AM Radio Listening Guide, 6-hr. 500 Top-of-Hour IDs, and Chinese FM at www.chriskadlec.comTuner: Grundig G8 • Location: Fremont, Mich. ]

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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by Feature/writer » Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:23 am

Here is part of a post that the Strong Tower Radio network sent out to its listener/supporters a few days ago:
"The Grand Haven Strong Tower Radio station 93.1fm returned to the air (earlier this month) but at reduced power and therefore reduced coverage; until we can receive a device to filter unusual harmonics. We have good reports from listeners of this limited broadcast footprint, but we are anxious to broadcast at full power as soon as the hardware filter is received and installed."



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Re: City of Grand Haven evicts WGHN-FM from tower due to lease violations

Post by cckadlec » Mon Mar 20, 2023 2:02 pm

Feature/writer wrote:
Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:23 am
Here is part of a post that the Strong Tower Radio network sent out to its listener/supporters a few days ago:
"The Grand Haven Strong Tower Radio station 93.1fm returned to the air (earlier this month) but at reduced power and therefore reduced coverage; until we can receive a device to filter unusual harmonics. We have good reports from listeners of this limited broadcast footprint, but we are anxious to broadcast at full power as soon as the hardware filter is received and installed."
May that hardware filter conveniently get lost... :razz

Like sorry, but every single time I ever had a question for Strong Tower to help me confirm what stations I was hearing when DXing (they are on some frequencies where other similar-sounding religious stations are common), nobody EVER took the time to reply to me, and they were very basic programming questions almost anyone there could help with quite quickly, so I guess I don't have the most favorable opinion of them. Understandable if it was a large corporate station not bothering to reply; that's almost expected!

But alas, they will get their filter and go to full power, but the signal being inland instead of right on the water is still helpful.

Thank you for the update on that. I haven't bothered to really check their website for any updates on their signals recently.


[ Radio and weather geeks, beware! Coastal tropo studies, the 3-hr. Seoul AM Radio Listening Guide, 6-hr. 500 Top-of-Hour IDs, and Chinese FM at www.chriskadlec.comTuner: Grundig G8 • Location: Fremont, Mich. ]

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