BRYAN — The Federal Communications Commission has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to the licensee of a low-powered FM religious radio station in Bryan.

Lighthouse Ministries of Northwest Ohio, the station’s owner, was issued a notice Monday in the amount of $3,500 for “failure to timely file a license renewal application” and “engaging in unauthorized operation of the station,” according to the FCC.

WKJH-LP 103.5 airs southern gospel music and has a coverage area of only three miles.

A broadcast station must file a renewal application four months before its license expires. Lighthouse Ministries failed to file for renewal by June 1, 2020, ahead of its license’s Oct. 1 expiration, and when no application was filed by Sept. 4, the FCC officially deemed the license expired.

The station owner then filed a renewal application Oct. 27, including a petition for license reinstatement. According to FCC documents, station director James Hollin explained that he “mistakenly believed that the license renewal application was due the following year” and “had several family issues occurring at the time the renewal application was due.”

“Although we are sympathetic to Mr. Hollin’s family issues, we find that issuing a notice of apparent liability is still appropriate here,” the FCC wrote in its official notice, as “violations resulting from inadvertent error or failure to become familiar with the Commission’s requirements are willful violations.”

The FCC also noted that Mr. Hollin failed to request special temporary authority to operate the station after the license expired — the offense for which it assessed the $3,500 fine.

Lighthouse Ministries could not be reached for comment.

WKJH-LP 103.5, which first received its license on June 19, 2002, was one of the first low-power radio stations to legally air in Ohio. The FCC created this new class of non-commercial radio broadcasting — known as “Low Power FM” — LPFM — in January, 2000. These radio stations have a maximum power of 100 watts and antennas no more than 100 feet high, limiting their range to only a couple of miles.

At least five other low-power FM stations in northwest Ohio have religious ties. Two are located in Lima, while the others are found in Napoleon, Tiffin, and Bowling Green.

The FCC said it will reconsider Lighthouse Ministries’ application for license renewal once the $3,500 fine is paid.

First Published March 9, 2021, 9:55 p.m.