In the 1950s, intrepid Methow residents who wanted access to the newfangled wonders of television cobbled together a system on the summit of McClure Mountain to transmit TV signals to the valley.
Decades later, the Methow Valley Communications District was formed to operate the system, which provides reception for broadcast TV and radio.
Over the years, newer technologies also took advantage of the mountain-top location for reliable transmission. Today, the site houses translators not only for radio and TV, but also for internet-service providers; communications for the U.S. Forest Service, Okanogan County law enforcement and emergency operations; and several cell phone companies, Site Manager Paul Brown said.
At first, the translators were run by generators, but eventually, the district erected a powerline, which extends 3 miles to the top of the mountain. As other users set up equipment on McClure, they also connected to the powerline, Brown said.
Now, an artifact of that arrangement has caught the attention of state auditors. The auditors didn’t find financial wrong-doing, but they flagged an unusual arrangement for paying for the power.
Having their own powerline is a “historical oddity,” Brown said. The Okanogan County Public Utility District (PUD) bills the communications district for power. When other users connected to power, they worked out an arrangement where the district pays the PUD the full amount and bills the other five users for their portion. The district’s portion is about 47%, and the others make up the remaining 53%. There is no mark-up, Brown said.
At first, reading the meter required a trip to the top of McClure, but today, remote meters provide monthly readings from the valley floor.
The district also spends several thousands of dollars annually to maintain the powerline and bills the other users for their share, Brown said.
Not allowed
The atypical power arrangement caught the attention of state auditors this year, since it’s not specifically authorized in the law setting up Television Reception Improvement Districts, Audit Manager Jake Santistevan told the Methow Valley News. Districts are audited to be sure they’re handling taxpayer funds appropriately and that they possess the necessary documentation.
Although the district has been audited regularly, the 2023 audit (which looked at four years, from 2019 to 2022) flagged the utility-bill arrangement for the first time in a management letter.
Special-purpose districts are limited to activities specifically authorized in the enabling documents, Santistevan said. If auditors see something outside the norm, they look at state law to see if it’s permitted. The TV district law was first adopted in 1971.
“We checked the math calculations — there are no concerns there,” Santistevan said.
But while TV districts can enter into contracts, there’s nothing in the law that resembles power provisions and allocation, Santistevan said. The auditors recommended that the district devise a new approach for paying for power, but realize that may take some time, he said.
Three districts in the state
Communications districts tax users for their services. Taxpayers in the Methow pay $30 a year for radio and TV reception. They can qualify for an exemption if they have cable TV or a satellite dish.
The Methow Valley district is not a big operation. Annual revenues are about $120,000. It is governed by a five-person volunteer board of directors appointed by the Okanogan County commissioners. There are a handful of “very, very part-time” employees, said Brown — a site manager; a technician who does most of the physical, on-site work; and an administrative manager.
Communications districts are also a rarity. Today, there are just three in the state, two in Okanogan County. The third district is in Kittitas County.
State auditors occasionally conduct more in-depth audits, and the district paid more than usual for this one, Brown said.
“We run a pretty tight ship — all other audits have been clean,” Brown said. The district is very diligent about following the rules, he said.
The district will figure out a new way of handling the PUD payments that’s in the public interest, Brown said.
Indomitable beginnings
Providing TV reception in remote areas has always required technical ingenuity and determination. In fact, valley resident Slug Davis took on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the 1950s to bring TV to the Methow Valley, according to a 1999 article by Jeanne Hardy in the Ruralite, a magazine for members of publicly owned electric utilities.
Davis cobbled together the first system with chicken wire and spare parts. Later, he and other valley residents improved the set-up with a tower and antenna. One of the biggest challenges was transporting it to the top of the mountain. The service proved very popular.
The FCC informed Davis that erecting an antenna without a license was against the law. After a trial, he was told to turn it off or pay a $5,000 fine and face 10 years in jail, according to Hardy.
Davis sent the letter back to the FCC with a note saying, “I’ve got the 10 years, but I don’t know where I’m going to get the $5,000.” According to the article, he never received a response.
He did get a visit from an FCC engineer, initially looking to arrest him. But the engineer was curious about the antenna, so they headed to the top of McClure. In the end, the engineer gave Davis advice to improve the signal and the two became good friends.
A decade later, the FCC approved the station.
