KCOU bill fails but could be presented again

The measure's sponsor hopes to present the bill again at the next meeting.

By Amber Wade

Published Oct. 17, 2008

Correction appended

With KCOU/88.1 FM supporters and leaders in attendance, the MSA Senate failed to pass funding for a new transmission tower during a two-and-a-half hour meeting Wednesday night.

According to the Missouri Students Association constitution, funding bills need a three-fifths majority to pass. Senators voted 13-13 with two abstentions.

MSA Senator Josh Travis wrote the bill and presented it to the Senate, encouraging senators to decide for themselves whether to vote on the bill or table the bill for another meeting. The Senate decided to vote, though some senators also wanted to table the bill until they knew more about it.

Travis said most likely the same bill would be submitted by next Tuesday, in time to be presented at the next Senate meeting Oct. 29.

The bill would partially fund a $30,000 transmitting tower for the station with money from an equipment fund that goes toward several MSA programs. KCOU needs the tower because the current tower's power supply will be cut off when Hudson Hall closes for renovations at the end of the year.

Travis said the rejection of the bill allows everyone to get a feel for the progress being made.

"Tonight was a great gauge of where we are now," Travis said. "Many senators didn't have the new, relevant information, and we need to communicate that information to make a decision."

KCOU General Manager John Dobson said he hoped the Senate would vote on the bill, but that obviously the outcome wasn't ideal.

Dobson said senators brought up a lot of good points, which the KCOU staff members were unable to answer because of time.

"A lot of good questions were brought up at the end, and I think it would have been beneficial if we could have discussed them," Dobson said. "We should have been able to answer them."

The Senate Operations Committee proposed several amendments. The revised bill requires KCOU leaders to meet every two weeks with the MSA Department of Student Communication director to keep communication open between the two organizations.

As a penalty for turning in its business plan late, a new amendment would deduct 5 percent of KCOU's budget. The station has until Feb. 1 of next year to submit a plan and until Dec. 1 for each year thereafter.

As for the tower payment, the new bill states that MSA would pay for $12,000 of the tower, the same amount granted to MUTV/Channel 23 for new equipment last spring. The bill would effectively loan KCOU the remaining $17,813 required to buy the tower. The station would then pay back $3,562.60 each year for five years.

The bill also deducts $187.76 from KCOU's fund request for the $30,000 tower because that sum was raised during a rally last week.

During the Senate meeting, KCOU presented a preliminary business plan, which shows its main goals for the future. MSA leaders requested a business plan during a mediation meeting Monday.

In the business plan, KCOU outlined future goals and mentions problems in the past and how it will overcome them. Future goals include an increase staff members, listeners and hours broadcasted, a new Latino show and new station bylaws. KCOU also plans to work more with DSC to help promote events for free.

The plan also mentions outreach for financial support from the community, including a new gift account online to help raise donations and a promise of more underwriting during the broadcast.

After several time extensions during KCOU's presentation, the Senate eventually voted to cut the presentation short.

KCOU Program Director Jonathan Hutcheson said he was surprised the discussion wasn't allowed to continue.

"I thought it was interesting that with such a complex issue, more discussion was not warranted," he said.

Although the bill addressed the tower expenses, a lot of the discussion focused on the future cost of moving the station to the new student center, which was initially projected to cost $168,000.

MSA Senator Phyllis Williams said this number is incorrect and misleading, because the number includes new equipment that isn't really necessary for the move.

Williams said KCOU would actually need around $48,000, and a large amount of that would come from the Student Fee Capital Improvement Committee fund.

Hutcheson said he is confident the final outcome of all this will be positive.

"With better information and more dialogue, I have faith that the Senate will make the right decision," Hutcheson said. "We have strong allies in the Senate who are very well informed and they should be able to help their colleagues gain a clearer understanding of the situation."