Termination of a partnership with Bluewater Radio won’t hamper plans to get a community radio station operating here by the summer, says a member of the local station’s board of directors.
However, there appears to be some uncertainty about the makeup of the board of Saugeen Community Radio (SCR) CIWN 88.7FM “The Spark” in Mount Forest.
At its Jan. 6 meeting, the board of directors of SCR was advised that the board of Bluewater Radio in Hanover would be terminating the partnership with SCR, said Wellington North economic development officer Dale Small, an SCR director.
He explained the SCR board was informed Bluewater would no longer be involved with the development of the new community radio station.
Small said the Bluewater board indicated it was ending the relationship, “due to a change of intent and direction of the Saugeen board of directors.”
Small said the two boards had not been seeing eye to eye on some matters.
“We’d been frustrated with them, they’d been frustrated with us. They wanted us to do some things we weren’t comfortable in doing,” said Small.
At the same meeting SCR directors appointed John McGovern as interim general manager for CIWN 88.7FM.
Small explained Bluewater general manger Andrew McBride, one of two Bluewater Radio representatives on the SCR board, had been assisting in activities related to getting the station on the air.
McGovern, who has been on SCR’s not-for-profit board since September 2014, said while he was disappointed the partnership did not work out, he felt in the long run the change will probably be a good outcome for CIWN 88.7FM.
“For the past year or so our board has become increasingly frustrated with how long it has been taking to get CIWN 88.7FM operational,” said McGovern. “We have been working with Bluewater Radio since 2010 and this change now gives us the opportunity to move forward under different advisory.”
McBride, who says he continues to serve as president of SCR, told the Advertiser Bluewater will release a statement “as soon as we are able to speak about the situation.”
He explained in an email, “At the moment Bluewater Radio is not in a position to make any comment on any statement made by Saugeen Community Radio.”
A website for The Spark continues to list it as a “sister station” to BWR91.3FM.
A press release from SCR states it received CRTC approval to establish a community radio station in Mount Forest “to service the residents of northern Wellington and Southern Grey Counties, was received in September 2013.”
The actual wording of the CRTC decision states the commission grants a broadcast license for “an English-language community FM radio programming undertaking in Mount Forest and Wellington North, Ontario.”
A board of directors was established to govern the activities for the station.
Small said the Township of Wellington North provided about $8,000 for preparation of technical briefs and other items related to Mount Forest Station’s application to the CRTC. He said there would be no funding from the township going forward.
SCR recently received a $68,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to get the station up and running, including, said Small, the hiring of a general manager.
Trillium officials have been advised of the split with Bluewater and Small said it won’t affect the grant funding.
“They understand partnerships change, businesses change … they’re fine, they’re not pulling funding or anything like that,” said Small. “This change really gives us an opportunity to move forward under new leadership and seek out new partners and get the station on the air.”
SCR had originally hoped to have a station on the air by the summer of 2014. Small said the target is now the summer of 2015. However, he added, any deadlines for getting on the air are “self-imposed.”
If not operating by September, “there’s information we’ve got to provide to the CRTC,” including plans for moving forward, Small added.
“There’s no termination of the license or anything like that if we’re not live at a certain period.”
In its original decision to grant SCR a broadcast license, the CRTC stated the station “must be operational at the earliest possible date and in any event no later than 24 months from the date of this decision, unless a request for an extension of time is approved by the commission” before Sept. 17, 2015.
Small said the goals of the directors and volunteers involved with the project remain the same. “Our goal all along has been to establish a community radio station in Mount Forest to service the residents of northern Wellington and southern Grey counties,” said Small.
“We had hoped Bluewater would have been able help us do that. They don’t want to help do that any longer, so we’ll move on with others.”
Local residents interested in joining the board or in volunteering at the station are encouraged to contact any of the current board members:
– John McGovern of Mount Forest, director and interim general manager;
– Tim Boggs of Arthur, treasurer;
– Dale Small of Mount Forest, secretary;
– John Tyson of Minto, director; or
– Shawn McLeod of Mount Forest, director.
SCR can be reached, c/o McGovern or Small at ciwn887FM@gmail.com.
