As The Post editorialized on June 18, Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast are in danger of losing their "precious public asset" - WXEL. We agree.

WXEL's Boynton Beach-based radio and television stations are unique assets that provide local public service, education, in-depth news, classical music and major-event programming. WXEL-90.7 FM and WXEL-Channel 42 are being divested by their trustee, Barry University. As it prepares to transfer the station licenses, Barry must honor its obligation to safeguard the stations for our community. Barry can do just that by transferring this community asset to the Community Broadcast Foundation of Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast Inc. - the CBF.

Such a transfer would guarantee that this public trust is maintained here in our community as a not-for-profit entity. The CBF is a consortium of area residents and community leaders. Many of them are former broadcasters who have committed to maintain service by and for the WXEL viewing and listening audience of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.

In an editorial, The Post referred to the CBF as a group with no "track record." Quite the contrary. CBF board members bring more than 300 years of combined experience in radio and television station and network ownership and management. These board members have served in senior management and staff positions in both commercial and public media.

Collectively, CBF board members have bought and sold more than 100 radio and television stations, founded a half-dozen radio and TV networks and schools, and currently run 20 stations, media production companies and educational institutions in South Florida and across the country. Complete information about the board is available at our Web site, www.ourlocalstation.org [1].

The CBF is a local, public organization. It was created by the WXEL community after two public forums in August and September 2004 held in response to news that Barry was seeking to sell the stations, which Barry bought in 1997. The CBF was the first suitor for WXEL then, and it still is.

After the creation of the CBF, our leaders reached out to each known suitor to explore partnerships - the primary requirement being that the license ownership be with a not-for-profit entity based in the WXEL community and governed by a board of directors who are all residents of that community. Florida Atlantic University wanted to own the WXEL licenses. WPBT-Channel 2 insisted that the licenses be located and controlled in Miami, where Channel 2 is based.

Nova Southeastern University, based in Broward County, and WNET-TV of New York - like WPBT, a public television station - were willing to discuss our requirement. Understanding the need for local control and management at WXEL, Barry University finally sought in April 2005 to award the licenses to a new Florida not-for-profit entity comprised of WNET and the CBF as a mandatory partner. Two months ago, the Federal Communications Commission rejected that deal because the FCC and WNET could not resolve non-local control issues.

As soon as Barry announced that the WNET deal had been terminated, the CBF began meeting again with WPBT, FAU and Nova Southeastern to share ideas about how the CBF can ensure localism and the best use of the WXEL resources.

The Post has suggested that WXEL ownership by FAU would be a "natural," and at first blush that would seem correct. But reality and research tell another story. Public media records show that the national trend of operating public broadcasting stations is not toward universities or governmental authorities. Examples of educational institutions that have recently transferred public signals to community control licenses include: Oregon Public Broadcasting, Seattle Public TV, Martin and Cookeville and Chattanooga (Tenn.) PTV. Denver's KRMA has created Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting. Other examples include Nashville WNPT PTV, Maine Network, and Vermont, VPT.

Educational institutions are divesting themselves of their public broadcasting licenses. Like Barry, they wish to focus on the business of running their universities. The cost of operating stations is very high, and there can be fund-raising conflicts with a university's development organization. No such conflicts would exist with a community-owned station, run by local folks with successful track records, as the CBF proposes.

It is 135 miles from Miami to Vero Beach. The Post also recommended a consolidation between WXEL and WPBT. Would The Post agree to a consolidation with The Miami Herald? Readers, like listeners and viewers, would be outraged at the loss of true local coverage, as The Post provides. Why is WXEL so different than The Post? Aren't the Miami-Dade-Broward market and the Palm Beach County-Treasure Coast market separate enough that they can be serviced by separate commercial TV network affiliates and local radio stations, as they have been for decades? WXEL and WPBT should have addressed the issue of duplicative broadcasting years ago. The CBF would make resolution of such conflicts a priority, to improve informational and entertainment programming between the two stations.

The CBF knows and appreciates that WXEL is a public resource. It was created in 1969 by the state and local community, and all of the station's hard assets were purchased with private grants and public donations. Barry is entitled to $5 million for transfer of the licenses. This figure is based on Barry's investment of money and resources in the station. This figure must be approved by the state. The CBF is prepared to pay a justified amount and provide ample assurance that the money needed for capital improvement and operation is sufficient. The CBF will continue to seek contributions and grants from the public.

The CBF believes that keeping WXEL as a public trust for Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast will preserve jobs and resources and serve to better educate, entertain and communicate to its viewers and listeners across all technology platforms. We believe that the key to success going forward is to concentrate on locally financed and locally originated programs, the iconic programs of the Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio.

The CBF, as a grass-roots community organization created solely to preserve the investment in, and service to our community, is the best place for the WXEL license to be held.