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Determining City Of License (COL) In Jersey

> > > Any location that meets the FCC's definition of a
> > > "community" is allowed, so either townships or
> > cities/towns
> > > could qualify. I can only think of one Jersey station
> > > that's licensed to a township, which is WSJO, but I'm
> sure
> >
> > > there are more.
> >
> > WNJC Washington Township (the one in Gloucester County)
> > WWNJ Dover Township
> > WXGN Egg Harbor Township
>
> Forgot WDVR Delaware Township
>

Also, WRDR (ex-WRLJ/WPDQ) 89.7 Freehold Township<P ID="signature">______________


New Jersey Radio Board moderator
</P>
 
> > > and one licensed to "Saint Bonaventure, NY" which only> > > exists as a political entity in a USPS Zip Code> database. > > > > > The two Town and two Village stations all Legal ID'd as> > > "Olean," IIRC.> > > > > > > Which is similar to WJSE, Petersburg, NJ.> > > > Petersburg is a section of Upper Township in Cape May> County> > and to my knowledge only exists politically as a zip code.> > > > > This is an interesting case. The FCC regs require the> community of license to be a political, not a geographic,> subdivision. It seems like Petersburg is the latter.> Generally, a township is a political entity in which basically homes exist; there is no town basis....a boro (or any spelling thereof) is a small city, with a downtown, as is "town" as in Town of Dover (I'm from there) in Morris County, which again features a downtown and a surrounding suburb of homes......Another poster mentioned Ironia (in Randolph Township, NJ) and there are several other small "towns" there, which could be better called villages, which make up the township.......Randolph Township consists of several of these villages, and to be sure that is just what they are, with no town center; they are simply subdivisions. Mt. Olive Township, just north up 10 and 46 is a similar situation as is Roxbury....Basically, FCC will licence to anything that has a name...so don't worry about this issue.<P ID="signature">______________
[email protected], [email protected],[email protected]</P>
 
>>If someone were to put a radio station on in Montgomery Township, (Somerset
> County) as an example, and the physical studios were in the
> borough (or village) of Skillman, Belle Mead, Rocky Hill,
> etc., would that station give their legal ID at the top of
> each hour as "W___, Montgomery Township" or "W___, Skillman"
> (or Belle Mead, Rocky Hill, etc).<<

Interesting that you used Montgomery Township as an example. For several years now, businesses and residents alike who are located in Montgomery have been "pretending" to be located in *Princeton*, even though Princeton Township (as well as Princeton Borough) is located in a different county (Mercer) a few miles away. Granted, portions of Montgomery are actually in a Princeton zip code, but even folks located near the intersection of 206 and 518 use Princeton as a "vanity address' just to pretend to be more "upscale" than they actually are. I had fun with that years ago when I was a dispatcher at a courier service. The "vanity address" of Princeton was used several times when the actual address was in Montgomery, and I would charge the customers a "wrong address" charge plus "waiting time" but secretly send the driver straight to the correct location to begin with. :)
 
Re: A related question...

> How many Washingtons and Raritans are there in NJ?

There are at least five Washingtons in New Jersey: Washington Township, Bergen County (near Westwood); the Town of Washington, Warren County (once home of the now-defunct WCRV); Washington Township, Mercer County (near Trenton); Washington Township, Burlington County (in the middle of the Pine Barrens); and Washington Township, Gloucester County (home of WNJC). A New Jersey radio map issued by the New Jersey Broadcasters' Association erroneously placed WNJC in Bergen County because of confusion about the COL.

There were two Raritans: Raritan Township, Hunterdon County and Raritan Township, Middlesex County. The Raritan in Middlesex County changed its name to Edison Township in 1954, honoring the inventor who once maintained a laboratory in the Menlo Park section of the township.

There are three Unions: Union Township, Union County (once the actual home of WNJR, now WNSW in Hillside); Union Township, Hunterdon County (near Clinton); and Union City, Hudson County. There was a fourth Union, Union Township in Ocean County, but it changed its name to Barnegat Township about 25 years ago.

There are two Franklin Townships, one in Somerset County (actual studio location of WCTC and WMGQ) and one in Cumberland County.

There are two Dovers, the Town of Dover in Morris County (COL of WDHA) and Dover Township in Ocean County.

There is also a Springfield Township in Union County and one in Cumberland County.
 
Re: A related question...

> > How many Washingtons and Raritans are there in NJ?
>
> There are at least five Washingtons in New Jersey:
> Washington Township, Bergen County (near Westwood);

Some around here refer to it as "The Township Of Washington".......When you enter the town the signs do say "Entering Township Of Washington".....However, I will always know it to be "Washington Township"<P ID="signature">______________
V

NOT NEW YORK....
NOT PHILADELPHIA....
PROUD TO BE NEW JERSEY....</P>
 
Re: A related question...

> > How many Washingtons and Raritans are there in NJ?
>
> There are at least five Washingtons in New Jersey:
> Washington Township, Bergen County (near Westwood); the Town
> of Washington, Warren County (once home of the now-defunct
> WCRV); Washington Township, Mercer County (near Trenton);
> Washington Township, Burlington County (in the middle of the
> Pine Barrens); and Washington Township, Gloucester County
> (home of WNJC). A New Jersey radio map issued by the New
> Jersey Broadcasters' Association erroneously placed WNJC in
> Bergen County because of confusion about the COL.
>
> There were two Raritans: Raritan Township, Hunterdon County
> and Raritan Township, Middlesex County. The Raritan in
> Middlesex County changed its name to Edison Township in
> 1954, honoring the inventor who once maintained a laboratory
> in the Menlo Park section of the township.
>
> There are three Unions: Union Township, Union County (once
> the actual home of WNJR, now WNSW in Hillside); Union
> Township, Hunterdon County (near Clinton); and Union City,
> Hudson County. There was a fourth Union, Union Township in
> Ocean County, but it changed its name to Barnegat Township
> about 25 years ago.
>
> There are two Franklin Townships, one in Somerset County
> (actual studio location of WCTC and WMGQ) and one in
> Cumberland County.
>
> There are two Dovers, the Town of Dover in Morris County
> (COL of WDHA) and Dover Township in Ocean County.
>
> There is also a Springfield Township in Union County and one
> in Cumberland County.
>


There are two Washingtons in Warren County. Washington
Borough (not a town) and Washington Township. The former
is pretty much surrounded by the latter. To make matters
a bit confusing in the area, the Washington Township in
Morris County is located near the Washingtons in Warren
County. However, geographic names, such as German Valley,
Long Valley, and Schooley's Mountain, are used more often
to identify locations in the Morris County township, which
is the actual home of the Hackettstown-licensed WRNJ, 1510 kHz.

A historically significant location in Somerset County
is Raritan Borough, adjacent to Somerville. Does anyone
know what world-famous event happened in Raritan Borough?
There's no prize, only the satisfaction of being very
well informed. :)
 
> > > > and one licensed to "Saint Bonaventure, NY" which
> only> > > exists as a political entity in a USPS Zip Code>
> database. > > > > > The two Town and two Village stations
> all Legal ID'd as> > > "Olean," IIRC.> > > > > > > Which is
> similar to WJSE, Petersburg, NJ.> > > > Petersburg is a
> section of Upper Township in Cape May> County> > and to my
> knowledge only exists politically as a zip code.> > > > >
> This is an interesting case. The FCC regs require the>
> community of license to be a political, not a geographic,>
> subdivision. It seems like Petersburg is the latter.>
> Generally, a township is a political entity in which
> basically homes exist; there is no town basis....a boro (or
> any spelling thereof) is a small city, with a downtown, as
> is "town" as in Town of Dover (I'm from there) in Morris
> County, which again features a downtown and a surrounding
> suburb of homes......Another poster mentioned Ironia (in
> Randolph Township, NJ) and there are several other small
> "towns" there, which could be better called villages, which
> make up the township.......Randolph Township consists of
> several of these villages, and to be sure that is just what
> they are, with no town center; they are simply subdivisions.
> Mt. Olive Township, just north up 10 and 46 is a similar
> situation as is Roxbury....Basically, FCC will licence to
> anything that has a name...so don't worry about this issue.
>


The definition of the five forms of government are
given in my earlier post. The above has no basis in
reality.
 
Re: A related question...

There's a Springfield in Burlington I believe also...

>
> A historically significant location in Somerset County
> is Raritan Borough, adjacent to Somerville. Does anyone
> know what world-famous event happened in Raritan Borough?
> There's no prize, only the satisfaction of being very
> well informed. :)
>

The treaty to end World War I officially ended for the United States in Raritan, since the Prez was visiting his Senator friend near what would be the Somerville Circle.
I enjoy telling people, when driving past the Burger King..."World War I was officially ended at that Burger King." Invariably I get a chuckle and disbelief.

This is a good thread.

Chris Puorro
Bridgewater RARITAN Class of '96
 
Re: Determining City Of License (COL) In New Jersey

> Millburn, by the way, has been persuing efforts to
> leave Essex County and become part of Morris County.
>

BTW That will never happen.

Harold has it right about the 5 designations, and even within them there have been subdivisions in terms of the way the Council-Manager-Mayor system can operate. If you enjoyed this thread, especially the non-radio aspects of it, I suggest the book "Multiple Municipal Madness" by the late Alan Karcher, former Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly. It's full of stuff like this:

In 1981, DC decided to give out billions in funds, but specifically to Townships and Cities, because Washington didn't have the primer on NJ Municipalities that you all have just received from the radio board. Because of this, many of the various municipalities changed their names to Townships, but didn't want to lose their old names. We have the Township of the Borough of Verona, for instance...also the Township of Glen Ridge Borough...and the City of Orange Township.

There's tons of stuff like that in this book, and I highly endorse it, even though it was written by a Democrat (whose daughter I have major policy differences)...

Everything overlaps in NJ, just remember that mailing address has NOTHING to do with the political division. Also Control Cities on highway signs are often based on mailing addresses or older subdivisions...for example, how come there are 5 major highways going through my hometown, and NONE uses Bridgewater (population approaching 50,000) on ANY sign...

(Wildly off topic, but I know some of you guys are into road signs too, Route 1 in Bucks County has resigned its interchange with 95...they got rid of the old Philadelphia-New York (southbound), and now the Northern control city is PRINCETON)

I thank the moderators for this departure from radio.
 
> > > > Any location that meets the FCC's definition of a
> > > > "community" is allowed, so either townships or
> > > cities/towns
> > > > could qualify. I can only think of one Jersey station
>
> > > > that's licensed to a township, which is WSJO, but I'm
> > sure
> > >
> > > > there are more.
> > >
> > > WNJC Washington Township (the one in Gloucester County)
> > > WWNJ Dover Township
> > > WXGN Egg Harbor Township
> >
> > Forgot WDVR Delaware Township
> >
>
> Also, WRDR (ex-WRLJ/WPDQ) 89.7 Freehold Township

Also, WDDM/WFJS, formerly WCNJ 89.3 Hazlet Township. (TOH always used Hazlet, not the twp.)
>
 
Yes, Princeton is the type of town that those in adjacent communities want to identify with. However, Montgomery Township is not drastically different from it's more affluent neighbor in Mercer County. On the whole, Somerset County is pretty nice. It's the "half-way" county between NYC and Philly.

I think Montgomery Township's school system is among the top 10 in the state of New Jersey, isn't it?
 
The FCC is somewhat loose on the definition of what a community of license can be. It could be a legally-defined area, which in NJ could be a city, town, borough (essentially a village), or a township depending on how it's chartered. Generally, if the Post Office has recognized an a community, the FCC will, even if the community has no legal standing. For instance, WBJB is licensed to Lincroft, which is actually an area of Middletown Twp. There are no defined borders for Lincroft, but it does have a post office. (Middletown Twp. has several other embedded post offices, including Navesink, Leonardo, Port Monmouth, Belford, and East Keansburg; and to complicate matters, portions of Middletown Twp. have a Red Bank mailing address.). On the other hand, there are several radio stations licensed to townships.... including WOBM lakewood Twp., WDVR Dover Twp. It is up to the prospective licensee to define and defend the community is applying to serve (and then, once licensed, act like it's licensed to a nearby larger city!)

With the constant name-changing of municipalities that seems to be a New Jersey phenomenon, I wonder.... does the COL change with the feds when the name of the municipality changes. For instances, there was some talk years ago about changing West Long Branch to Shadow Lawn. If that happened, would WMCX's COL automatically change? Likewise with COL's that are annexed into other cities.
 
Re: Determining City Of License (COL) In New Jersey

> > Millburn, by the way, has been persuing efforts to
> > leave Essex County and become part of Morris County.
> >
>
> BTW That will never happen.
>
> Harold has it right about the 5 designations, and even
> within them there have been subdivisions in terms of the way
> the Council-Manager-Mayor system can operate. If you
> enjoyed this thread, especially the non-radio aspects of it,
> I suggest the book "Multiple Municipal Madness" by the late
> Alan Karcher, former Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly.
> It's full of stuff like this:
>
> In 1981, DC decided to give out billions in funds, but
> specifically to Townships and Cities, because Washington
> didn't have the primer on NJ Municipalities that you all
> have just received from the radio board. Because of this,
> many of the various municipalities changed their names to
> Townships, but didn't want to lose their old names. We have
> the Township of the Borough of Verona, for instance...also
> the Township of Glen Ridge Borough...and the City of Orange
> Township.
>
> There's tons of stuff like that in this book, and I highly
> endorse it, even though it was written by a Democrat (whose
> daughter I have major policy differences)...
>
> Everything overlaps in NJ, just remember that mailing
> address has NOTHING to do with the political division. Also
> Control Cities on highway signs are often based on mailing
> addresses or older subdivisions...for example, how come
> there are 5 major highways going through my hometown, and
> NONE uses Bridgewater (population approaching 50,000) on ANY
> sign...
>
> (Wildly off topic, but I know some of you guys are into road
> signs too, Route 1 in Bucks County has resigned its
> interchange with 95...they got rid of the old
> Philadelphia-New York (southbound), and now the Northern
> control city is PRINCETON)
>
> I thank the moderators for this departure from radio.
>

Very informative. It's off topic too, but I wonder why
you think Millburn wouldn't leave Essex for Morris
County. The well-heeled folks in Millburn don't like
the thought of their high taxes going elsewhere in
Essex County. Time will tell, of course.

You've explained the reason for the oddity of the
"Township of South Orange Village." Many years ago
the Seton Hall radio station would ID as "From the
gaslite village of South Orange..." It doesn't quite
have the charm if you substitute "township."

Several months ago there was a discussion on the
Long Island, NY, forum regarding the proposed
relocation of WGSM to Mount Olive, in Morris County.
Someone on that board proclaimed that such a transfer
couldn't occur because Mount Olive was a "township."
Apparently where he lived, a township is an unincorporated
area. Of course in New Jersey it is a bonafide municipality,
as we've come to see.
 
Re: A related question...

> There's a Springfield in Burlington I believe also...
>
> >
> > A historically significant location in Somerset County
> > is Raritan Borough, adjacent to Somerville. Does anyone
> > know what world-famous event happened in Raritan Borough?
> > There's no prize, only the satisfaction of being very
> > well informed. :)
> >
>
> The treaty to end World War I officially ended for the
> United States in Raritan, since the Prez was visiting his
> Senator friend near what would be the Somerville Circle.
> I enjoy telling people, when driving past the Burger
> King..."World War I was officially ended at that Burger
> King." Invariably I get a chuckle and disbelief.
>
> This is a good thread.
>
> Chris Puorro
> Bridgewater RARITAN Class of '96
>
You win the satisfaction of being right!!! Congratulations.

As the story goes, the President Harding was visiting
his friend for a weekend golfing trip. Congress finally
approved the treaty ending World War I and the bill was
sent by train to Somerville. (Apparently in those days it
was relatively easy to travel from Washington to Somerville
by train. Would those days come back..sigh.)

Harding was out on the links when the bill arrived. He
signed the bill in his friend's home, finally ending all
hostilities and conflicts associated with the War to End
All Wars. Unfortunately, it didn't bring comfort to a
lot of German malcontents and we had to fight another
war to make them understand that they should make love,
not war. Let's hope they learned the lesson. :)
 
Re: Determining City Of License (COL) In New Jersey

> There seems to be a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding
> about the "township" thing.
>
> A "township" in New Jersey is a political unit, identical
> to a city except for the form of government. I know that
> the term is used differently in other states. Do not use
> anything you learned from those other states to the civil
> governments in New Jersey.

Not what I'm talking about. There are at least two different Hamilton Townships in New Jersey. What happens when you have two political entities with the same name, when one of them has a station licensed to it?
<P ID="signature">______________
The Pab Sungenis Project - http://www.lowbudgetradio.com</P>
 
> Which is similar to WJSE, Petersburg, NJ.
>
> Petersburg is a section of Upper Township in Cape May County
> and to my knowledge only exists politically as a zip code.

As one of the people who helped sign on that frequency, the funniest thing is that neither the tower, nor the studios, nor the offices, have EVER been in Petersburg!
<P ID="signature">______________
The Pab Sungenis Project - http://www.lowbudgetradio.com</P>
 
Re: Determining City Of License (COL) In New Jersey

> > There seems to be a lot of unnecessary misunderstanding
> > about the "township" thing.
> >
> > A "township" in New Jersey is a political unit, identical
> > to a city except for the form of government. I know that
> > the term is used differently in other states. Do not use
> > anything you learned from those other states to the civil
> > governments in New Jersey.
>
> Not what I'm talking about. There are at least two
> different Hamilton Townships in New Jersey.

"What happens when you have two political entities
with the same name, when one of them has a station
licensed to it?"


I don't know? Maybe pour yourself a cold one? Where's
the problem?
 
> > Which is similar to WJSE, Petersburg, NJ.
> >
> > Petersburg is a section of Upper Township in Cape May
> County
> > and to my knowledge only exists politically as a zip code.
>
>
> As one of the people who helped sign on that frequency, the
> funniest thing is that neither the tower, nor the studios,
> nor the offices, have EVER been in Petersburg!
>


True, but at least until August '97, everything was in Upper Township.
 
Re: Determining City Of License (COL) In New Jersey

> Very informative. It's off topic too, but I wonder why
> you think Millburn wouldn't leave Essex for Morris
> County. The well-heeled folks in Millburn don't like
> the thought of their high taxes going elsewhere in
> Essex County. Time will tell, of course.

If it were exclusively Millburn's decision, I would agree. Unfortunately for Millburn, it isn't completely up to them. There are a ton of hoops to jump through, not the easiest of which would be a 2/3 vote in the assembly and the Senate, and gubernatorial approval. It would take money AWAY from Newark and Irvington, and the politicans in Trenton (and state Supreme Court) are constantly making laws to send MORE money to lagging areas, not the other way around.

And so this post won't get deleted because it doesn't have to do with radio, um, uh...I'm glad Rocky Allen's back.
 
Re: A related question...

> Harding was out on the links when the bill arrived. He
> signed the bill in his friend's home, finally ending all
> hostilities and conflicts associated with the War to End
> All Wars. Unfortunately, it didn't bring comfort to a
> lot of German malcontents and we had to fight another
> war to make them understand that they should make love,
> not war. Let's hope they learned the lesson. :)
>

To quote TomLehrer:

Once all the Germans were war-like and mean
But that couldn't happen again
We taught them a lesson in 1918
And they've hardly bothered us since then.
 
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