To: Dan McCabe

From: Kristin Okesson and Dick Ferguson

Re: WSTC Radio Tower Lease

February 14, 2012

Per our conversation yesterday, here are the pertinent facts relating to the renewal of the WSTC Radio Tower lease.

Background on the Tower and Lease Negotiations

WSTC 1400 AM owns a 400 foot radio tower and a transmitter building located off of Hanover Street and Magee Ave on a parcel of land leased from the City of Stamford. The current lease was originally signed on June 13, 1985. The lease expires in June 2015.

Currently two radio stations transmit from the tower: WSTC 1400 AM and WEDW‐FM 88.5. WSTC is owned by Cox Radio and WEDW‐FM is owned by Public radio and leases space on the tower from Cox.

WSTC also provides space on the tower to The Stamford Fire Department at no cost for their emergency communications equipment.

In 2002 ythe Cit approached Cox Radio/WSTC with a request to use a portion of the site leased by WSTC to construct a maintenance garage. WSTC worked with the City to integrate the garage into the site it was occupying under the lease in a way not to alter or cause harm to the stations so the station would continue to operate and meet all FCC regulations. WSTC did this without a reduction in rent and at considerable expense which was only partially reimbursed by the City. As part of that arrangement, the City and WSTC agreed to negotiate and sign new a 30 year lease. Because the need to build the maintenance garage was immediate, Cox agreed to move forward with the construction of the garage on the verbal assurance the lease would be executed. The Corporation Counsel office’s negotiated a lease on behalf of the City in consultation with the Mayor’s office but the lease, while drafted and essentially agreed to, was never submitted for approval.

In 2009, the Corporation Counsel’s office and Cox reengaged to again renegotiate the lease and after agreeing on the terms, presented the document to the Finance Committee at a meeting on January 14, 2010. The lease wasd discusse but not acted on and then indefinitely tabled without explanation to WSTC.

In 2011 WSTC renegotiated the lease yet again with the Corporation Counsel’s office and in late 2011 Cox and the City agreed to a new 30 year lease. The terms of the lease increase the yearly rent eto th city from $33,972 to $ 42,000 through a combination of a guaranteed yearly rent plus a revenue sharing agreement. In late 2011 the lease was approved by the Mayor’s office, the Finance Committee and the Planning Committee. Cox now seeks to have the lease approved by the Legislative and Rules committee and the Board of Representatives.

WSTC, Stamford’s radio station since 1941

WSTC has served Stamford since 1941. From 1946 until 1981, the station was owned by the Stamford Advocate. A series of different companies owned WSTC between 1981 and October, 1999 when Cox purchased the station as part of a transaction that involved many radio stations. WSTC has served the community for over 60 years with a variety of music and news programming and has been an important source of local information during storms and other local emergencies. Unlike Connecticut’s other major cities which have many radio stations serving them, Stamford only has two, WSTC and WEDW. Without the WSTC tower, both stations would no longer have an acceptable site to transmit from.

Sale of WSTC to the WSHU Public Radio Group

In the Fall of 2011, Cox Radio agreed to sell WSTC to of Fairfield, Ct., which owns and operates the WSHU Public Radio Group. WSHU is one of the country’s premiere public radio operators and is a not for profit, 501c3 organization. All of their radio stations are listener supported and non‐ commercial stations. Cox chose to sell WSTC (which has been losing money for over a decade) to WSHU at a below market price ($250,000) because of WSHU’s significant commitment to quality programming, its award winning news operation, and because WSHU is a Connecticut based company located in Fairfield County. On November 7, 2011 in anticipation of the pending sale, WSHU began providing non‐commercial local and NPR programming to WSTC under a programming agreement with Cox that conforms to FCC requirements. WSHU is in the process of hiring three additional news people to expand coverage in the Stamford area and is planning to open a news bureau and studio in Stamford later this year.

The FCC approved the sale of WSTC to Sacred Heart University in January , but the sale has been delayed pending approval and execution of the lease by the City of Stamford. The closing will take place when the lease has been approved by the Legislative and Rules Committee and the Board of Representatives, hopefully in mid March.

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