Thirteen communities from St. Louis to Harrison have pulled resources together in what is being called the Mid-Michigan Area Cable Communications Consortium.

The digital station is funded through franchise agreements with Charter Communications and will offer airwave access to anyone who is a cable television subscriber in the Gratiot, Isabella and Clare counties area.

MAC Channel 3 Executive Director Jan Howard said the project has been in the works for about 12 years and a location for the station has been in pursuit for the last five.

“This is going to be the biggest central studio and one of the biggest public access stations in the state,” she said. “We have 13 communities in our consortium and we have even more communities that want to join us.”

Members of the consortium include Mount Pleasant, Alma, Clare, Charter Township of Union, Ithaca, St. Louis, Breckenridge, Shepherd, Pine River Township, Arcadia Township, Harrison, North Star Township and Emerson Township.

“It’s only by all of those communities working together that an asset like this can be delivered,” said Assistant City Manager Kathie Grinzinger, who is also the president of the consortium.

Part of the franchise fees that Charter Communications cable customers pay goes directly to the studio, which in turn, is then available for them for use.

“These communities have been saving toward building for a long time,” Howard said. “It’s great for the public and it’s going to give them an opportunity to reach a large audience.”

Construction of the station, located at 312 W. Michigan St., began April 23 and is expected to be completed sometime in the fall, with a grand opening planned for October, Howard said.

She said the station will serve as a good central location between both extremes of the consortium.

The 3,700-square-foot building will feature a 900-square-foot public access studio, two editing suites, a master control suite, a conference room, video playback and reception areas, storage area, staff offices and even a small kitchenette.

“Anyone in the area who is a cable television subscriber can basically come in an take 10 hours of course instruction, pass a test, and for free they can come in and borrow up to $20,000 of television equipment,” Howard said.

Three in-studio cameras and two cameras will be available for loan. Anytime equipment is used, it must result in a produced television show, Howard said.

She said high school students also can use the equipment, but someone in their group must be older than 18 years of age.

“The idea that they can participate in this on a local level will be good for everybody and it may even take the mystery out of TV,” Howard said.

Stipulations prohibit use for advertisement or promotion of sale, she said, but users could bend the rules by making a “how to” video for a product as long as it’s educational.

Howard said the station will not review for content, but users will be asked to sign an affidavit.

“We’d like no pandering. I’m really not exciting about the concept that someone could shoot a frat rush,” she said. “Basically, public access is for entertainment and education and I’d like to see those kinds of things happen.”

Howard said she has had inquiries from people of all interests, from those wanting to tape yoga shows to people wanting to tape animals at the animal shelter to theater performers wanting to tape their performances.

Howard said she even heard about a group called Four Weird Guys Productions, which is looking for actors to start a public-access television show called “Fragile Minds.”

“We welcome anybody who has an interest in producing programs, from the Red Cross to Four Weird Guys,” she said. “We’re looking for creative, articulate, responsible people who have a message to send or just want to have fun.”

She said she expects the station to be utilized heavily by nonprofit civic organizations, clubs, churches and student organizations.

The station will serve CMU students by offering internship opportunities to broadcasting students, Howard said.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for internships, but most importantly, students who are apartment dwellers in the area are candidates to come use the facility,” she said. “It will also be a great location for journalism students to practice video journalism.”

Howard said she hopes to develop an active group of volunteers, similar to those in Alma, who are certified to help out around the studio.

“Alma has a very strong user group and they’ve done a wonderful job of bringing public access to the Gratiot County area,” she said.

“It will be a growth process as we get larger and larger and take on more volunteers. I see this as a growing experience,” Howard said. “The sky’s the limit.”

Grinzinger said it may not be an instant classic.

“I expect it to take some time to catch on and be used,” she said. “Public access takes a while to build up in a community, but once it does, it becomes a very valuable asset.”