City wants new spot for radio towers

The city of Kalispell has targeted KGEZ's two radio towers to be moved to another location.

The 325-foot-tall towers violate federal airspace safety rules because of their height and locations southeast of the Kalispell City Airport runway.

However, the city government says it does not want to put the radio station - owned by controversial talk-radio host John Stokes - out of business.

Consequently, the city staff has proposed hunting for a new tower location, building new towers and then connecting them by microwave to KGEZ's station.

This would start a chain of events that could end up with the city trying to condemn the towers - leading to the possibility of protracted litigation. The city government and Stokes already have a prickly relationship.

City Airport Manager Fred Leistiko briefed the Kalispell City Council on the proposal Monday at a workshop session at which no votes were legally allowed.

On Tuesday, Stokes told the Inter Lake he won't agree to move the towers if the city does not also buy his land.

"Their best and only option is condemnation," Stokes said of the city's proposal.

In the past, Stokes has said that moving or lowering the towers would degrade the station's broadcast signal.

On Tuesday, he said KGEZ's land is worth $250,000 an acre. At 6.65 acres, that would translate to almost $1.7 million.

However, Stokes advertised a few months ago that the 6.65-acre site is for sale for $4 million, with the radio station thrown in for free.

A 2003 report by Media Services Group - hired by the city of Kalispell - put the value of the radio station alone at $650,000.

The city government is not interested in buying either the land or the radio station, Leistiko said.

But the city airport needs the towers removed because they are too tall and too close to the airport under Federal Aviation Administration regulations, he said. Consequently, the airport cannot receive FAA money until the towers are addressed.

The airport opened in 1929 and the towers were built 1.8 miles south of the airport in 1954.

Although the towers have violated federal regulations since 1954, neither the city nor the station's various owners dealt with the matter for decades.

Now the city is seeking federal money to extend its 3,700-foot runway another 1,000 feet to the south. However, Leistiko said the towers violate FAA rules regardless of whether the runway gets extended or not, meaning the FAA money will not be available.

Stokes' neighbors own the land on which the towers are built, but KGEZ has an easement permitting them to stand there.

Several months ago, the city hired Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers of Seattle - for roughly $17,000 so far - to study the tower situation.

Leistiko said Hatfield & Dawson recently reported that the least expensive choice would be to duplicate KGEZ's towers at a new location northwest or southwest of Kalispell, or in a small area east of Evergreen.

The city has begun talks with owners of two potential sites. Other possible sites exist, pending further study, he said.

"You notice I said: 'Move the towers.' There has never been any intention by the city to shut down this radio station," Leistiko said. "It is perhaps relevant at this time to note that all other radio stations in the valley are remote from a studio - miles away from their broadcast towers. KGEZ is the only station that I know of that is hard-wired to their towers."

Once a site is selected and plans are drawn up, the city staff plans to approach Stokes with a proposal in which the city - using public money to be 95 percent reimbursed by FAA - would buy the land, build the towers and modify the station's equipment to transmit signals to the new towers.

Leistiko said the preliminary cost estimate is about $300,000 to do that work.

If Stokes rejects the city's proposal, Leistiko said the city can go to District Court to begin condemnation proceedings against the towers - not against the land or station - to clear the airplane flight pathways south of the airport.

"What we are condemning is that airspace," City Attorney Charles Harball said.

If the city prevails in District Court, Leistiko and Harball expect Stokes to appeal to the Montana Supreme Court.

Indeed, Sokes has said that unless he gets a sought-after price, he will fight the city in court.

KGEZ has been in three lawsuits over the towers, although not with the city of Kalispell. It lost all three lawsuits. Stokes appealed all three to the state Supreme Court. He lost all three appeals.

Leistiko speculated that a final Supreme Court decision - if condemnation litigation materializes and gets that far - would likely be made by the fall of 2009.

Mayor Pam Kennedy questioned whether a fall 2009 date for a possible Supreme Court ruling is realistic if the matter goes to court. Harball said that timetable follows average timelines for District Court actions and appeals.

Stokes has been entangled in several business-related lawsuits.

When Stokes bought the station in 2000, he knew that the state planned to widen U.S. 93 just south of Kalispell, and it would have to buy a 7-foot-wide right-of-way on KGEZ's land.

That led to the state and Stokes fighting in court over the right-of-way price until the city, state and some neighbors offered to buy the entire 6.65 acres for $2.2 million in 2003. Stokes countered that his price was $4.7 million. Eventually, the state bought the right-of-way for $400,000.

Meanwhile the overall price for the 6.65 acres grew to $10.9 million early this year until dropping to $4 million by late summer.

"Mr. Stokes isn't so much interested in operating a radio station, but in making a profit on his investment," Harball said.

A few months ago, Stokes said he loved running the station, but would sell it if the price is right.

In a related matter, Stokes' advertisement to sell for $4 million stated that he would not sell to his neighbors. His neighbors recently won a lawsuit over how large an easement KGEZ has on the land that holds the station's towers.

Two of those neighbors, Davar and Todd Gardner, recently filed a lawsuit in Flathead County District Court over allegedly defamatory remarks that Stokes made about them on the air.

On Tuesday, Stokes said his broadcast remarks about the Gardners were true.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com