Milwaukee lighthouse owner Optima Enrichment and Waterloo Christian seek CPs to operate 91.5 class B1s
The FCC has affirmed its tentative selections for two new noncom educational FM construction permits, via a timeshare, in a mutually exclusive group in Wisconsin. The commission denied an informal objection against one of the selectees.
Optima Enrichment Inc. and Waterloo Christian Radio Corp. were part of an MX group from the 2021 filing window for NCE FM applications. The proposed stations are located about 30 miles west of Milwaukee. We previously detailed the point system assessment process the commission used, which led to a tie and the subsequent proposed timeshare agreement.
The commission also reviewed an informal objection filed by Albert Adam David against Waterloo Christian's application. David has filed multiple objections against different applications in the past. The Media Bureau had not addressed his objection until after the Waterloo Christian application was accepted for filing.
David argued that the date Waterloo Christian listed in its application as qualifying it as local -- Nov. 8, 2021, the same day the group filed its application -- did not meet the FCC's requirement for an established local applicant. The commission requires that an applicant must have been local and established in the community for at least two years immediately prior to filing.
David contended that Waterloo could not have qualified as local under this rule and therefore should not have been awarded points for its local presence.
Waterloo Christian responded that this was a clerical error. It cited its operation since 2016 of 96.9 WULD(LP) from its headquarters in Waterloo, Wis., within 25 miles of its proposed community of license, as evidence of its locality. The group amended its application over the summer to list 2013 as the date it qualified as local.
David countered that merely owning an LPFM license does not qualify the organization as local. He also stated Waterloo Christian failed to provide "any organizational information about the establishment of the applicant and the duration of time it has been local," arguing the amended application should not be considered.
The Media Bureau dismissed David's objection. It determined Waterloo Christian's operation of its LPFM station, combined with a map showing that its headquarters in Waterloo is less than 20 miles from Ixonia (its proposed community of license), provided sufficient evidence of its local qualifications.
Waterloo Christian and Optima Enrichment now have until Jan. 26 to submit a time-sharing agreement to the FCC. The groups will share 91.5 FM, each operating Class B1 FM signals, with Optima Enrichment's in Delafield while Waterloo Christian's facility will be located in Ixonia.