CKXU, the radio station at the University of Lethbridge, is looking to broaden their broadcast across southern Alberta. Project manager Curtis Goodman and his team are gathering up funds to rent space on existing towers in the city.
As of right now, CKXU has a Class B licence with the CRTC, which means they can broadcast up to 6200 watts. That is very minimal when compared to other radio stations in Lethbridge.
CKXU is affectively broadcasting with a 125-watt transmitter around 80 watts. However, by the time the signal leaves the towers and gets pushed out, it is nowhere near enough coverage.
“It doesn’t even give you full coverage of all parts of Lethbridge. On the west side you can be a kilometer and a half away from the station and there are dead zones”, said Goodman.
CKXU will need at least a $100,000 for the equipment in place to push a signal out. Catering costs can be anywhere from $500 to $1500 per month which covers electricity, internet connection, and ongoing maintenance
In order to fund the expansion, the City of Lethbridge offers the Community Capital Project Grant (CCPG), which Goodman first applied for in 2013.
The grant is broken into two parts.
The first part is strictly used for planning. To do this, CKXU was awarded around $15,000. The money was spent on bringing in consultants and engineers in order to allow the organization to create a business plan for the project.
“When you are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars you need to have a clear understanding of what needs to be done and how it’s going to happen,” said Goodman
Goodman applied for the second part last Thursday. This portion of the grant will be used for tower space, infrastructure and equipment. Goodman is currently waiting for a decision on the amount of money they will receive.
The CCPG offers funding for one-third of the project. This means that CKXU is responsible for the other two-thirds.
However, the CCPG is designed to work with the community facility enhancement program with Alberta culture, which is an Alberta government-funding program that will fund one-third of their project.
Therefore, CKXU only needs to come up with one-third of the funding.
CKXU successfully petitioned the undergraduate student body in order to consider an increase in the student levy to secure more operational funding for the station.
The student levy went from five dollars a person per semester, to eight dollars a person per semester. This is a 66 per cent increase from previous years. The increase will secure approximately $60,000 annually.
The CCPG is a long and sometime complicated process. Recreation and Development Manager Lori Harasem understands that it can be complex and is ready to offer help.
“We will work with you, if there are any problems we will be happy to help you and work your way through this,” said Harasem.
CKXU is the only community radio station in southern Alberta outside of CJSW in Calgary and offers members of the community the opportunity to be heard.
“We are so open-minded. We will help anybody and everybody within the community,” said Goodman.
