County should support URTV as a public asset

[Commentary] I believe public access is a right and a gift. The 1984 Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act written by Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ) states, “A franchising authority ... may require as part of a cable operator's proposal for a franchise renewal ... that channel capacity be designated for public, educational, or governmental use.” And Buncombe County did that with Charter Cable. They have the G (government) while the WNC Community Media Center, which houses URTV, has the "P" (Public) of the PEG stations proposed in 1984. The "G" gives us county news while "P" allows Asheville residents to learn, create and show on their own station with freedom of expression that cannot be found elsewhere. Money is collected in Raleigh from cable servers, called video distribution funds. The city and county then disburse funds for PEG, but for some reason the county, in my opinion, doesn't want to share equally with URTV. At the last county commissioners meeting consultant John Howell said that the funds must legally be divided equally. I don't understand why the support is obviously being held back.