Kingston Public Access Going Off The Air?

There has been a lot of talk about K.P.A. going off the air, some say three weeks some say two years without local towns funding the network it is inevitable. Kingston Public Access is something that is a great asset in this community, I got my start getting involved in local government through public access telivision, when I started to produce Eye On Kingston w/Bill Reynolds, a show that is now rated as number one on the network. I then expanded and took over and produced The Mayor's Show and then eventually I started my own show were every week I have a chance to talk about local and federal issues and take calls from local residents, it is something that I greatly enjoy doing. In December of 05, Mayor Jim Sottile asked me if I would be interested in joining the Kingston Public Acess board and without hesitation I accepted and was appointed. Then once on the board voted in as the board's vice-chairman. Since then I have really gotten an inside look of the MANY problems facing public access, the equipment is held together by shoe strings , 1 out of the 4 tape decks used to do taped shows work, flooding is also an issue( I once heard a story from Rich Cahill that after a storm him and his father had to do a show in the studio that had a foot of water in it) and of course one of the biggest problems is our lack of funding!! I have a budget sitting at my desk that was put together by myself and the rest of K.P.A. commission for 78,000 to cover the cost of fixing equipment, basic supplies, and the hiring of a desperately needed part-time station manager. There is one problem we are minus the 78k needed to o this because we have no operating budget, why do we have no operating budget because your local towns have refused to contribute ANY money toward public access. The only towns/cities to sign aboard and give K.P.A. a half of one percent out of the franchise agreement they collect to cover our operating costs are the city of Kingston, and the town of Kingston. NO other town has. The towns of Hurley and Esopus do not collect a franchise fee and have stated they do not want to put an extra tax on there residents. Lets talk about the real cost if the town of Esopus collected a franchise fee of just the half of one percent it would only cost each resident forty cents per month. Forty cents a month for 60 hours of quality local programming is that to much to ask? (My show alone is worth 10 times that!) I am afraid that if we do not have these towns start contributing, public access will become a thing of the past, and that would be a shame because threw first hand experience I know the benefits of public access. I know you do to, do not let KPA go down. Your town officials represent you call them and tell them you want public access to be on the air and to contribute there FAIR share!!

Town Of Esopus- 845-331-0676 Supervisor John Coutant home 339-3612
Town Of Hurley 845-331-7474 Supervisor Mike Shultis home 339-7798


THANK YOU TO :The City Of Kingston and The Town Of Kingston, for recognizing the importance of Kingston Public Access and contributing to us we appreciate your support!