The Brattleboro Selectboard heard further discussion tonight on the resolution of support submitted to it by radio free brattleboro at the November 4 Selectboard meeting. If you remember, the last meeting came to a dramatic close when the board voted 3-2 against rfb's proposal after which Steve Steidle produced his own resolution in its place. Since rfb had never seen the new resolution, the matter was tabled until the November 18 meeting. Tonight, after an hour and a half of discussion, the matter came to what for some was a predictable conclusion -- the Steidle resolution was passed 4-1 while the rfb version was rejected by the same margin.

The Steidle resolution made a number of changes throughout, but the key language removed from the proposed rfb resolution read as follows: "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that We, the Brattleboro Selectboard, support the residents of Brattleboro in granting authority to radio free brattleboro to broadcast to the community." It was this paragraph that rfb was seeking, above all.

In the Steidle resolution, this paragraph reads: "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that We, the Brattleboro Selectboard, support radio free brattleboro and the concept of community radio and encourage the Federal Communications Commission to work with radio free brattleboro and other applicants to obtain a Low Power FM licence which will enable them to serve the needs of the community and its members."

As stated last meeting and again tonight by both Steve Steidle and Joerg Mayer, the Selectboard rejected rfb's argument that the airwaves are owned by the people, despite the fact that the Telecommunications Act of 1934 explicitly states this. Their take, which was strongly recommended by the town lawyer, was that the airwaves are under the sole regulatory authority of the FCC, based on recent case precedent. Steve Steidle was also concerned about supporting a group that was not abiding by FCC regulations.

Although various members of the board were clearly not that enthused to be discussing this again, there ensued a discussion. rfb representatives again stated that it was the position of rfb that the FCC had asked for authority to broadcast, and that the petition offered with over 1300 resident signatures and 1000s of signatures from around the area constituted that authority. They were looking to the Selectboard to support the citizens of Brattleboro in their effort to grant rfb the authority to broadcast.

Jim Maxwell, Larry Bloch and Ian Kiehle all spoke eloquently to the larger issues at stake here, notably democracy and free speech. However, the majority of the Selectboard members appeared to be more for adhering to the letter of the law than making any precedent-setting statements about the people's right to broadcast on the public airwaves.

Another local resident, Brian Dodge, took the mic and urged the Selectboard to vote against rfb. He identified himself as a career radio engineer and long-time friend of Greg Worden who supported rfb in theory, but objected to their methods, i.e., broadcasting without an FCC license. He claimed that a 10 watt licensing window would open later that year, and that rfb should have waited and applied in that window. He also suggested that the station drop to 1 watt of power to avoid FCC licensing regulations, and informed them that he and the other two professional engineers in the county are watching rfb very closely. He did not explain what this meant.

Larry Bloch and Steven Twiss both spoke to the issue of licensing windows -- Steve Steidle was under the impression as well that the FCC continues to offer 10 watt licenses (rfb is a 10 watt station that capable of reaching listeners within a 2 mile radius.) Both Larry and Steven exploded this myth, explaining that the FCC only offers licenses of 100 watts and up, and that anecdotal evidence from LPFM watchers indicated that this promised 10 watt licensing window would not to be opened this year, if ever.

Pat De Angelo continued to plead rfb's case, offering an "amended resolution of the amended resolution" with the following key paragraph: "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that We, the Brattleboro Selectboard, support the residents of Brattleboro, who by their numbers and by their petition signatures have conferred authority to radio free brattleboro to broadcast to the Brattleboro community until such a time that a Low Power FM  license is issued to radio free brattleboro or to another educational, non-profit, locally based community group who is prepared to offer to the town of Brattleboro diverse, all-access, non-commercial, community radio."

Once this amended resolution was introduced, Greg Worden moved quickly to voting. The board, with one false start that caused three votes to be repeated, succeeded in voting down Pat's amended amended resolution 4-1 and quickly voted to approve the Steidle resolution, also 4-1.

Looking gravely out at the disappointed crowd, Greg told us that they had done the best they could basically, and asked us not to be too mad. He reiterated that "we support rfb." The crowd dispersed, but members of the rfb group looked noticeably dismayed with the result. Some said the Steidle resolution was as good as no resolution at all, possibly worse. Others felt it had been a foregone conclusion, which did indeed seem to be the case to this observer. Still others sighed and said that at least it was something, and so utterly gutless that it hardly mattered.

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The following is the text of the original rfb resolution with the language of the Steidle resolution superimposed. All text in [ ... ] is text that was removed in the Steidle resolution. All text in capital letters is new language inserted in the Steidle resolution. The Steidle resolution language is what was passed by the Selectboard.

WHEREAS, radio free brattleboro, as an all-volunteer, educational, non-profit, state and federally tax exempt organization, [has demonstrated itself to be a responsible community organization] that has trained [hundreds of] MANY local citizens in the art of radio broadcasting and the rights and responsibilities inherent to freedom of speech, and;

WHEREAS, radio free brattleboro has [been an invaluable] PROVIDED A VALUABLE public service to the town of Brattleboro [for the past five years] by providing a forum for all, [including those often excluded from the increasingly consolidated corporate media]; and

WHEREAS, radio free brattleboro has remained committed to fostering an informed and engaged public by offering access to a diverse group of local residents, artists, community groups, and public officials; and

[WHEREAS, as decreed by Congress in the 1934 Telecommunications Act, and affirmed by the United States Supreme Court, the airwaves are a public resource legally owned by the American people; and ]

WHEREAS, the Federal Communications Commission, created by the 1934 Telecommunications Act to make the airwaves available to all, [has requested from radio free brattleboro proof of their authority to broadcast];

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that We, the Brattleboro Selectboard, support [the residents of Brattleboro in granting authority to] radio free brattleboro AND THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY RADIO AND ENCOURAGE THE FEDERAL COMMUNICXATION COMMISION TO WORK WITH RADIO FREE BRATTLEBORO, AND OTHER APPLICANT TO OBTAIN A LOW-POWER FM LICENCE WHICH WILL ENABLE THEM TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND ITS MEMBERS; [to broadcast to the community]; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Brattleboro Selectboard encourages the Vermont [Legislature] CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION and the United States Congress to adopt legislation [supporting and protecting radio free brattleboro and other] THAT ACKNOWLEDGES THE VALIDITY AND VALUE OF community radio stations AND PROVIDES A TIMELY PROCESS THAT ENSURES ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES.