Some Saratogans may not realize that the city has its own station at 1610 AM, but those who do admit it's not worth tuning into, because it does not deliver the real-time information it promised when it first hit the airwaves a dozen years ago.

Resident Ian Webb said he used to listen to the station at least once or twice a week, but not anymore.

"I don't know why I even bothered," he said. "I never got any useful information out of it."

What Webb was looking for were updates on roadblocks and possible breaking news stories.

"The purpose of the station is to inform the public about what's going on around them. It should include information about traffic tie-ups due to unforeseen events or accidents and immediate advisories in the case of a natural disaster or major utility failure. It does not fulfill this expectation," Webb said. "Instead, it is the radio equivalent of spam."

Saratoga City Council members decided to set the record straight. At a meeting held on July 16, they voted to drop the station's initial intent to provide the 24-hour immediate information listeners were looking for. However, the station will operate in times of an emergency such as a fire or an earthquake and will serve as a resource for publicizing strictly community events such as the upcoming Celebrate Saratoga! 2003 Street Dance.

That decision was one of three options discussed regarding the future use of WNWN 392 Radio Station. The other options included operating it only in emergency situations and upgrading it to provide emergency information, publicity for community events and updates on traffic and weather.

Finances, staffing and input sources were the major determinants in the decision-making process about how to use the station.

Vice Mayor Ann Waltonsmith said that due to a tight budget, she would be compelled to go with the least-expensive option and hopes residents will remember to tune into the station in the event of an emergency.

"The less the city operates the station, the less people will remember it when they need it," she said.

Mayor Nick Streit added that the station would not be a popular source of information should a situation arise.

"There are other ways people can get information," he said. "The first place people would probably go to is CNN and other major networks."

Streit opted for using the station for immediate emergency operations and community events unless a group is willing to volunteer to operate the system to include traffic and other real-time information.

According to Economic Development Coordinator Danielle Surdin, the cost of maintaining and renewing the license for a five-year period is approximately $180. City officials, as well as the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Westside Substation and the Saratoga Fire Department, have recording access to the station.

"The self-imposed expectation of real-time non-emergency information broadcasting on the radio system may be unrealistic, given the amount of effort necessary to achieve it," Surdin stated in a staff report.

Sgt. Bill Tait from the substation said that the system can be difficult to operate and is only useful for major situations such as complete roadblocks due to serious accidents or large community events. According to Tait, the sheriff's station has only had to use the system approximately three times within 18 months to inform residents of road closures.

"Entering information into the system can be pretty labor-intensive," said Tait. "There are approximately nine steps, with mini-steps in between."

City Manager Dave Anderson, who said he's corrected and deleted old information on several occasions, compared it to using a high-tech device.

"Operating the system is like trying to program a VCR," he said. "It can be very cumbersome."

However, Tait said there is another problem when it comes to tuning into the station.

"The bigger downfall is that unless people routinely switch over to the station, residents have no way of knowing when to tune in," he said.

But Webb argued that the only way of reminding residents to switch to the station on a regular basis is to include news that would affect their commute.

"We might as well pull the plug on the station and save the electric costs if it is not going to be used for timely information," Webb said.