Federal Communications Commission DA 08-1566
 
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
Radio Plus, Inc.
Licensees of AM Station WFDL
Waupun, Wisconsin
Facility ID No. 42092
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File No.: EB-07-CG-139
NAL/Acct. No.: 20073232002
  
FRN: 0006949911
FORFEITURE ORDER
Adopted:  July 1, 2008 Released: July 3, 2008
By the Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region, Enforcement Bureau:
I.  INTRODUCTION
1. In this Forfeiture Order (“Order”), we issue a monetary forfeiture in the amount of 
seven thousand dollars ($7,000) to Radio Plus, Inc. (“Radio Plus”), licensee of AM radio station WFDL 
in Waupun, Wisconsin, for willfully and repeatedly violating Section 73.49 of the Commission’s Rules 
(“Rules”)1 by failing to enclose the WFDL antenna tower within an effective locked fence or other 
enclosure.  In this Order, we consider Radio Plus’s arguments that the forfeiture amount should be 
cancelled or reduced because the violation was not willful and in light of its remedial efforts.
II. BACKGROUND
2. On February 6, 2007, an agent from the Enforcement Bureau’s Chicago Field Office 
conducted an inspection of the AM antenna tower used by Radio Plus to broadcast AM station WFDL.  The 
WFDL antenna tower is series fed and, therefore, required to be fenced. Upon inspection of the WFDL 
antenna tower, the agent found that the antenna tower did not have a locked fence or an effectively locked 
enclosure surrounding the base of the tower.    The wooden fence was found to be in poor condition.  The 
top of the fence had pieces missing and the gate had a large area where the wooden slats were broken or 
missing.  The fence gate was open and did not have a lock.  The antenna site, located in Waupun, 
Wisconsin, is approximately 1300 feet northeast from Waupun Middle School and sports field.
Notwithstanding the tower’s proximity to a school, the agent noted that there was no perimeter fence 
surrounding the property upon which the antenna structure was sited to prevent the public from accessing 
the tower.  Later that day, the agent advised the Chief Operator and the General Manager of WFDL of the 
lack of an effectively locked enclosure surrounding the base of the WFDL tower.  The Chief Operator and 
General Manager acknowledged the condition of the fence.  
3. On July 27, 2007, the Chicago Field Office issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for 
Forfeiture (“NAL”) in the amount of $7,000 to Radio Plus for failure to enclose the WFDL antenna tower 
within an effective locked fence as required under Section 73.49 of the Rules.  In its response, Radio Plus 
does not dispute the condition of the fence at the time of the agent’s inspection on February 6, 2007.  
Radio Plus states, however, that its actions were not willful and that, prior to the inspection, it had 
  
1 47 C.F.R. § 73.49.
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contacted contractors and that contractor availability and weather conditions prevented it from replacing 
the fence until the springtime.  In this regard, Radio Plus submitted a proposal that it had obtained from a 
contractor in September 2006.  Radio Plus also notes that, after the agent’s inspection, Radio Plus 
requested that the contractor replace the fence as soon as the weather permitted.  A new fence was 
completed on March 9, 2007.   Radio Plus’s response to the NAL also included a statement from the 
station’s chief engineer, who states that he did not believe the condition of the fence was a danger to the 
public.  The chief engineer further states that he is not sure exactly how the gate became open, but 
believes that it may have resulted from a rotten gate latch that blew open from snow and wind.
III. DISCUSSION
4. The proposed forfeiture amount in this case was assessed in accordance with Section 
503(b) of the Act,2 Section 1.80 of the Rules,3 and The Commission’s Forfeiture Policy Statement and 
Amendment of Section 1.80 of the Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines (“Forfeiture Policy 
Statement”).4 In examining Radio Plus’s response, Section 503(b) of the Act requires that the 
Commission take into account the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation and, with 
respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, ability to pay, and other 
such matters as justice may require.5  As discussed below, we have considered Radio Plus’s response to 
the NAL in light of these statutory factors and have found that reduction or cancellation of the proposed 
forfeiture amount is not warranted.  
5. Section 73.49 of the Rules states that antenna towers having radio frequency potential at the 
base (series fed, folded unipole, and insulated base antennas) must be enclosed within effective locked 
fences or other enclosures.6 Individual tower fences need not be installed if the towers are contained 
within a protective property fence.7 Because WFDL broadcasts from a series-fed tower and there is no 
perimeter fence, the tower must be enclosed within an effective locked fence.  As described above, at the 
time of the February 6, 2007 inspection, an agent found that the condition of the fence and gate, combined 
with the fact that the gate was open and did not have a lock, rendered the fence ineffective.  Because the 
fence was in need of repair since at least September 2006, i.e., the date Radio Plus obtained a proposal from 
a contractor, we find that the violation was repeated.  Having found that the violation was repeated, we do 
not need to determine whether the violation was willful.8 We nevertheless address Radio Plus’s claim that 
the violation was not willful.
6. Section 312(f)(1) of the Act,9 which applies to violations for which forfeitures are assessed 
under Section 503(b) of the Act, provides that “[t]he term ‘willful’, when used with reference to the 
commission or omission of any act, means the conscious and deliberate commission or omission of such 
act, irrespective of any intent to violate any provision of this Act or any rule or regulation of the 
  
2 47 U.S.C. § 503(b).
3 47 C.F.R. § 1.80.
4 12 FCC Rcd 17087 (1997), recon. denied, 15 FCC Rcd 303 (1999).
5 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(2)(E).
6 47 C.F.R. § 73.49
7 Id.
8 See Section 503(b)(1) of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(1) (violator liable for forfeiture if violation is willful or 
repeated).
9 47 U.S.C. § 312(f)(1).
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Commission authorized by this Act…."10 “Willful” does not require a finding that there was an intent to 
engage in a violation.11 Radio Plus does not dispute the agent’s findings, which showed that the fence 
surrounding the tower was in such disrepair that the fence was rendered ineffective.  By failing to repair 
the fence in a timely manner, it was Radio Plus’s “omission” that resulted in its willful violation of 
Section 73.49 of the Rules.  
7. We decline to reduce the proposed forfeiture amount based on Radio Plus’s remedial efforts.  
Reductions based on good faith efforts to comply generally involve situations where violators 
demonstrated that they initiated measures to correct or remedy violations prior to the Commission's 
involvement.12 Radio Plus’s replacement of the fence after the February 6, 2007, inspection by the 
Chicago agents therefore does not support a good faith reduction.  Further, we do not believe that Radio 
Plus’s alleged efforts prior to the inspection warrant a good faith reduction.  Although Radio Plus claims 
that weather and contractor availability prevented it from fixing the fence until the springtime, Radio Plus 
received a contractor proposal on September 17, 2006, and Radio Plus does not provide any explanation 
as to why the fence could not have been fixed at that time.  Indeed, notwithstanding its claim that weather 
prevented the fence from being fixed until springtime, the fence was in fact fixed by March 9, 2007, as a 
direct result of the FCC agent’s inspection on February 6, 2007.  Finally, we believe that the fact that the 
gate was open and did not have a lock shows a level of neglect that negates any effort prior to the 
inspection that might have warranted a good faith reduction. Consequently, we decline to reduce the 
forfeiture amount on this basis.
IV.  ORDERING CLAUSES
8. ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 503(b) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended (“Act”), and Sections 0.111, 0.311 and 1.80(f)(4) of the 
Commission’s Rules, Radio Plus, Inc. IS LIABLE FOR A MONETARY FORFEITURE in the amount 
of $7,000 for willfully and repeatedly violating Section 73.49 of the Rules.13
9. Payment of the forfeiture shall be made in the manner provided for in Section 1.80 of the 
Rules within 30 days of the release of this Order.  If the forfeiture is not paid within the period specified, 
the case may be referred to the Department of Justice for collection pursuant to Section 504(a) of the 
Act.14 Payment of the forfeiture must be made by check or similar instrument, payable to the order of the 
Federal Communications Commission.  The payment must include the NAL/Account Number and FRN 
Number referenced above.  Payment by check or money order may be mailed to Federal Communications 
Commission, P.O. Box 979088, St. Louis, MO 63197-9000.  Payment by overnight mail may be sent to 
U.S. Bank – Government Lockbox #979088, SL-MO-C2-GL, 1005 Convention Plaza, St. Louis, MO 
63101.  Payment by wire transfer may be made to ABA Number 021030004, receiving bank 
TREAS/NYC, and account number 27000001.  For payment by credit card, an FCC Form 159 
(Remittance Advice) must be submitted. When completing the FCC Form 159, enter the NAL/Account 
number in block number 23A (call sign/other ID), and enter the letters “FORF” in block number 24A 
(payment type code).  Requests for full payment under an installment plan should be sent to: Chief 
Financial Officer -- Financial Operations, 445 12th Street, S.W., Room 1-A625, Washington, D.C.
  
10 See Southern California Broadcasting Co., 6 FCC Rcd 4387 (1991).
11 Id., citing MCI Telecommunications Group, 3 FCC Rcd 509, 514 n.22 (1988); Hale Broadcasting Corporation, 79 
FCC Rcd 169, 171 (1980).
12 Cumulus Licensing Corp., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 23 FCC Rcd 5286 (2008) (post-notification remedial 
efforts do not warrant mitigation of forfeiture).
13 47 U.S.C. § 503(b), 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.111, 0.311, 1.80(f)(4), 73.49.
14 47 U.S.C. § 504(a).
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20554.  Please contact the Financial Operations Group Help Desk at 1-877-480-3201 or Email: 
ARINQUIRIES@fcc.gov with any questions regarding payment procedures. Radio Plus, Inc. shall also 
send electronic notification on the date said payment is made to NER-Response@fcc.gov
10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Order shall be sent by First Class Mail 
and Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to Radio Plus, Inc. at its address of record.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
G. Michael Moffitt
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region
Enforcement Bureau