After repeated warnings about contract discrepancies and unpaid bills, Grand Haven, MI officials made good on their threat and cut the power to radio station WGHN-FM. Grand Haven City Manager Ashley Latsch dismissed arguments that the action was “vindictive,” telling MLive the city had spent over five months trying to come to terms with radio station management. WGHN has leased the tower space from Grand Haven since 1984, noted WGHN owner Will Tieman, and is now working with the FCC to locate a new radio tower site.
Latsch explained there were two major areas of concern. First, the radio station’s contractual agreement stipulates that 75 percent of its programming should be locally originated. Failure to honor this condition, noted Latsch, generated fines of $18,008.
Second, the station racked up $84,539 in utility bills, which were also not paid, according to MLive. In addition to the monetary matters, the city also expressed concerns about an antenna that it did not approve, and a third party which was engaged without the city’s consent. “The reality is that the city has provided significant opportunity to address the contract breaches and overall could not continue to subsidize the outstanding balances with taxpayer dollars,” stated Latsch.
Tieman referred to the alleged infractions as “perceived violations” and said that city officials have refused to meet with him to resolve the dispute.
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