Hillsborough County Commission Provides The Power to the Tower

WMNF is proud to announce that the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners has awarded the station a grant to help replace the aging tower that sends our signal from Seminole Heights to our transmitter in Riverview.  The county’s 2015-2016 budget includes $120,000 for the tower project.

WMNF began a campaign to replace the 27-year-old tower last year and created a “Be the Power Behind The Tower” committee which has raised $20,000 dollars. WMNF is grateful to the volunteers and supporters who have already contributed the funds to pay for a site survey and to begin the permitting process. Thanks to Brown Engineering for alerting us that the tower needed to be replaced. It’s estimated that the tower replacement will cost $140,000.

Now Hillsborough County has stepped up with a grant that assures the project’s completion in the coming year. WMNF sincerely thanks the members of the Board of County Commissioners and County Administrator Mike Merrill for their support.

“I cannot thank Hillsborough County enough for reinforcing the importance of WMNF to the community it serves,” said Craig Kopp, WMNF’s General Manager.

Commissioner Victor Crist helped shepherd the tower grant through the budget process. He said WMNF needs to be counted on in the event of emergencies to get information out to the community. The new tower will ensure that happens.

WMNF is one of the largest and longest serving community radio stations in Florida and is an active participant in the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network. WMNF is committed to working with the county’s Emergency Operations to communicate vital information during weather and other emergencies.

“WMNF provides a great service to the community,” said Commissioner Crist. “Your audience is my audience. It’s important to me and my family’s quality of life. We are working to bring new business and dollars back to the community and WMNF contributes to the quality of life. It’s the salt and pepper of the community, not just playing top 40 music, but music you can’t necessarily hear anywhere else.”