Boulder Creek’s KBCZ non-profit community radio station will soon begin broadcasting on the dial at 90.1 FM and will also be available to stream over the Internet.
Hallie Greene, district manager of the Boulder Creek Recreation and Parks District, said that initial plans to start a community radio station in Boulder Creek began in early 2012. She has been working to organize and get the community involved in the project.
“Basically, I have been helping to get this thing rolling,” said Greene.
KBCZ community radio is a non-partisan and educational station devoted to bringing the community together through local content. The station will provide entertainment and information — including local weather, traffic, news and history, emergency information, as well as music, art, and agriculture.
Having a local radio station has many advantages, like providing current information regarding traffic, weather and emergencies, said Boulder Creek Recreation and Parks District Board Member George Galt.
“The idea of having a local radio station in the Valley is tremendously exciting, there are so many times when we had news that just pertains to the valley that is difficult to find on any media outlet at all in an immediate fashion,” explained Galt.
The Boulder Creek Recreation Center funded the initial cost to purchase the station and will be providing future donations, said Greene.
KBCZ was purchased from Common Frequency and is regulated by the FCC as a Non-Commercial and Educational Radio Station, which will broadcast at a maximum of 100 watts.
Tim Welch, the director of KBCZ, said that the station is located above Oh Susannah’s and Jenna Sue’s Café, in the offices of the Santa Cruz Mountain Bulletin in Boulder Creek.
Part-time volunteers are in the process of programming automated talk shows and music for the station, which is financially supported through local business sponsorships and donations.
“There have been some technical challenges on the FM side as well as the streaming side,” Welch stated.
All programming will be automated at first and will slowly transition to live programming, he said.
The station will be doing a soft launch throughout the rest of the year to work out any potential bugs, with the goal of being up and running with regular programming in 2015.
“I think that the most exciting thing about it is that it’s a great community building tool, and that really is one of the mission statements of Boulder Creek Recreation and Parks district is building community through our programs and facilities, and this will be a wonderful program that we can run,” Galt said.
Currently, KBCZ 90.1 has yet to air and is playing an automated loop of music that was provided by the seller, Welch said.
The broadcast is anticipated to reach the border of Ben Lomond, and possibly to Bear Creek Estates and the golf course.
“The community let us know that they want a local radio station and they have been very supportive and we ask that they continue to be supportive,” Welch said.
Anyone interested in volunteering or becoming a member of KBCZ radio can visit KBCZ.org or send an email at in**@KB**.org.
