Dan J. Alpert 2120 N
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The Law Office of Dan J. Alpert 2120 N. 21st Rd. Arlington, VA 22201 [email protected] web site: COMMLAW.TV (703) 243-8690 (703) 539-5418 (FAX) December 14, 2020 Ms. Marlene Dortch Secretary Federal Communications Commission 45 L St., NE Washington, DC 20554 Re: Estate of George V. Domerese Timothy Domerese, Administrator KMTL(AM), Sherwood, Arkansas Facility ID No. 23871 K249FE, Sherwood, AR Facility ID No. 201566 File No. 0000105222 Dear Ms. Dortch: Transmitted, herewith, on behalf of the Estate of George V. Domerese, Timothy Domerese, Administrator, is its response to the Letter of Inquiry dated October 14, 2020, with respect to the pending application for renewal of license for Station KMTL(AM), and FM Translator K249FE.1 If there are any questions, please contact this office. Very truly yours, /Dan J. Alpert/ Dan J. Alpert Counsel for Estate of George V. Domerese, Timothy Domerese, Administrator cc: Tom Hutton, Esq. tom.hutton@fcc Heather Dixon, Esq. heather.dixon@fcc. [email protected] [email protected] 1 By email dated November 13, 2020 from Heather Dixon, Attorney Advisor, Audio Division, an extension of time within to respond to the Letter of Inquiry was granted until December 13, 2020. Because December 13, 2020 fell on a Sunday, this response is being filed on the next business day, on December 14, 2020. DECLARATION I, Timothy Domerese, hereby state as follows: I am the Administrator of the Estate of George V. Domerese. George V. Domerese was the owner of Station KMTL since its inception in 1983 until his death on February 27, 2017. The Order Appointing Administrator, appointing me as Administrator, is attached hereto as Attachment A. The Estate filed for and was granted an FM Translator for use in conjunction with the operation on the Station, Facility No. 201566. The construction permit for the facility previously known as K249FE was granted on January 1, 2018. File No. BNPFT-20171220ACT. The FM Translator facility began operation on or about May 31, 2019. The license to cover for the modified facility was granted on June 3, 2019. File No. BLFT-20190531AAO. The facilities of the FM Translator recently were modified to address interference concerns. The call sign of the FM Translator permit is K250CF. LMS File No. 129457. I do not have a radio background, so since the death of my father, Station KMTL and eventually its FM translator are operated with the assistance of Radio La Raza, LLC and MG Radio Communications, LLC. The principals who report to me about the Stations are Carlos Morón and Albino Gutierrez. The station is marketed as “La Raza 750AM-97.7FM”.” Attachments G and L. The Commission’s Inquiry Letter issued on October 14, 2020 is attached hereto as Attachment B. The FCC has requested information concerning the past and current operational status of Station KMTL and its associated translator. These matters are addressed as follows: KMTL(AM) Operational Status. We hereby request that the Estate provide a narrative statement that indicates KMTL(AM)’s operational status between January 1, 2020, and the present. Specifically, the Estate should indicate the dates on which KMTL(AM) has been silent, has operated with its licensed facilities, has operated at reduced power pursuant to STA, or has operated with technical parameters other than those specified in its license or its STA. The Estate should submit copies of all leases, personnel records, engineering records, station logs, invoices, bills (including utility bills), checks written or received, credit card charges, wire transfers or deposits of funds relating to KMTL(AM)’s operation. In addition, the Estate must include pictures of KMTL(AM)’s studio facilities and transmission facilities during this timeframe. The information being requested by the Commission’s Inquiry Letter is attached hereto as Attachments C - N. Since the land at which the tower and studios are located is owned by the Domerese Estate, there are no “leases.” There are no personnel records. Engineering records are attached in the form of declarations attached as Attachment D and E. Station issues/programs lists are attached as Attachment F. Invoices issued on behalf of the station are attached as Attachment G. Utility bills that are available are attached as Attachment H. Credit card receipts for FCC regulatory fees and FCC filing fees are attached as Attachment I. There are no wire transfer receipts. There are no documents available for deposit of funds. Photographs of the KMTL transmitter site, transmission equipment, and studio that have been requested are attached as Attachment J. A copy of the Tax Bill for the land for the transmitter site, owed by the George V. Domerese Trust, is attached as Attachment K. A copy of the station’s broadcast schedule is attached as Attachment L. Other information concerning operation of the Station is attached as Attachments M - O. Based upon the information that has been provided by Station personnel, although Station KMTL generally was able to maintain broadcast operations, it appears that due to equipment malfunction, Station KMTL was silent many times in March, April, and May 2020 for periods of time. Repairs to the Station’s transmitter had to be undertaken each time the equipment malfunctioned. The equipment had to be removed and sent away for more extensive repairs in October and November 2020. As reported to the FCC, the station officially was off the air from October 17, 2020 – November 25, 2020. Attachment P. While the KMTL transmitter still is unable to return to full-power operations, it is hoped that the most recent transmitter repair will allow the Station to operate on a more reliable basis. K249FE Programming. We request that the Estate provide a narrative statement that indicates the dates between January 1, 2020, and the present on which K249FE originated programming. The narrative statement should also identify the dates between January 1, 2020, and the present on which K249FE rebroadcast the signal of a primary station other than KMTL(AM). The Estate must include the call signs of these primary stations and note the dates on which K249FE broadcast their signals. The Estate should submit all documents in its possession relating to K249FE’s rebroadcast of the signals of any stations other than KMTL(AM). As explained in Attachments D, M - O, during several times when Station KMTL was silent due to equipment problems, a Station employee improperly kept the FM Translator operational, and placed on the FM Translator programming originating from nearby Station KTUV, which is another station that personnel from the Station is providing assistance. This error occurred on repeated occasions. FM Translators do not keep logs. In this case, no logs (automated or otherwise) showing the programming broadcast on K249FE exist. Although no authoritative complete list exists, based on the information provided by former Station employee Armando Gonzales, it is certain that programming from Station KTUV was improperly broadcast on Station K249FE on March 26, 2020; May 6, 2020; and May 14, 2020. It is possible that this improper broadcast occurred on other occasions when the KMTL transmitter was offline. As explained in Attachment M, Attachment N, and Attachment O, this improper programming was broadcast on Station K249FE due to Mr. Gonzales’ mistaken connection to K249FE of a computer used only for KTUV programming. The statement from Mr. Gonzales was received only in the form of an email from the employee that was fired due to allowing the impermissible programming to be placed on the translator. The following steps have been taken to ensure that this error cannot again occur in the future. First, the employee that principally was responsible for the violation of the Commission’s Rules has already been terminated. Secondly, a Compliance Handbook is being prepared that is being distributed to Mr. Morón and Mr. Gutierrez and will be used to train future Station employees, explaining the FCC FM Translator Rules, and the restriction contained in this particular license which restricts Station K250CF to only rebroadcasting Station KMTL. Third, a logging system now will be established, and a log entry will be made on a daily basis, whereby Station personnel now will confirm on a daily basis that the Station being rebroadcast on Station K250CF is KMTL. Fourth, steps will be taken to make it so Station K250CE equipment is not capable of receiving any Primary Station other than KMTL. Finally, the logs will be reviewed by the Station’s Chief Engineer on a weekly basis. In this manner, it is anticipated that this error will not, even conceivably, ever occur again. K249FE Power Levels. We request that the Estate provide a narrative statement regarding the TPO(s) and ERP(s) at which K249FE has operated since January 2020. The Estate must also submit station logs and/or records, and any other documents that corroborate the Estate’s response. The authorized power for Station K249FE was 250 watts ERP/400 watts TPO. It has been confirmed with Albino Gutierrez that the Station has at all times operated with the proper Transmitter Power Outputs and Effective Radiated Powers. Attachment N. The station currently is silent, due to an interference complaint, but has been granted permission to change frequencies and is about to begin operation on Channel 250. The services of Tom Bruce, of Canyon Lake Broadcasting, were utilized to determine the appropriate ERP and TPO for Station K249FE/K250CE. A copy and confirmation of the calculations is attached hereto as Attachment E. As noted above, FM Translators do not maintain logs. Therefore, logs have not been maintained in the past. However, as a part of its new compliance regimen, beginning immediately when it starts operation, Station K250CE shall voluntarily maintain on a weekly basis log entry of its TPO, for future review by the Commission.