KLCC dreams of spacious quarters.

Byline: GREG BOLT The Register-Guard

After 30 years of sailing the airwaves from the same cramped ship, radio station KLCC is considering a move.

The popular National Public Radio affiliate has more than outgrown its quarters on the Lane Community College campus and is testing the waters to see if listeners and supporters are willing to help pay for a new studio and offices. The new center would be built on campus at an estimated cost of $2.5 million.

Station manager Steve Barton said a public fund drive could be more than a year away, but the station needs to do something to ease its space crunch if it wants to continue to expand its menu of programs.

"We've outgrown the space and can't do the things we'd like to do," he said.

KLCC went on the air in 1967 and moved to LCC's main campus in 1968. It operates from a suite of rooms on the second floor of the Forum building, a space that Barton said was never designed for a radio station.

Also, KLCC has grown from a single, 440-watt station to a network that includes five translators and three sister stations.

Its main transmitter now broadcasts at 81,000 watts and reaches some 70,000 listeners a week, according to the station's Web site.

"We have more people; we have more equipment," Barton said. "We're now operating four radio stations instead of one. There just isn't room for everything. We'd certainly be able to provide better service to the community with a better facility."

At a recent meeting, LCC board members approved spending $191,000 to hire a California firm, Netzel Associates, to consult on and manage a fund-raising campaign. The money will come from private donations; no public money will be used to retain the firm.

According to documents supplied to the LCC board, an architect has been selected and preliminary designs completed. It could take 2 1/2 years to complete fund raising and begin construction.

Barton was reluctant to go into details of the campaign, saying it's still in its early stages. Typically, fund drives go through a "silent phase" when an agency seeks larger gifts from a small group of major donors, followed by a public phase aimed at broader support.

Marie Matsen, LCC's vice president for operations, said a feasibility survey was done to see if potential donors and supporters would be open to a capital campaign. She said the answer was a solid yes. "We're going to take that leap and go into a campaign for a new building. Their facility is really a hinderance. They're doing good work in spite of a poor facility."

Although LCC is in the midst of a $45 million expansion, Matsen said that still won't provide room for the radio station. Also, the station needs a space tailored to broadcasting and its specialized technology.

"We just simply don't have the space here on campus," she said. "Even with the new buildings we're not going to have the space to do all the things we need to do."

KLCC operates on an annual budget of $1.5 million and has always depended on a large and loyal audience to stay in business. It held its first radiothon fund-raiser in 1975 and raised $10,000; the station now holds two radiothons each year, bringing in upwards of $200,000 each.

Additional money comes from the local business community, LCC and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. KLCC is a charter member of National Public Radio.

CAPTION(S):

Liz Wise hosts the "Fresh Tracks" show in the KLCC studio against a backdrop of vinyl records and compact discs. The radio station has outgrown its present 2,300 square feet and hopes to begin a fund-raising drive that will provide the money to build more spacious quarters. BRIAN DAVIES / The Register-Guard