The Oshkosh Common Council voted 4-3 on Tuesday, August 4, to preserve LifeTV, the city's public-access channel that has operated for nearly 40 years.Common Council Member Alec Lefeber initially voted to end LifeTV before switch ing his vote to support it. Lefeber serves on the city's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and sees LifeTV as a tool to fulfill that mission."In between the votes, I had an opportunity to reflect on the mission statement and the purpose of Life TV. For me, it was the fact that this is a free speech forum that is meant to promote the cultural diversity of Oshkosh," Lefeber said.Common Council Member Paul Esslinger, who previously produced LifeTV shows himself, also voted to preserve the program."I would never want to give up the right for someone to be able to speak freely on how they want to voice their opinion. If there's a program that you don't like, you can come up and you can start your own program and give your opinion," Esslinger said.WATCH THE FULL BROADCAST HERE: Oshkosh's LifeTV survives vote to shut down public-access channelCurrently, LifeTV records in conference rooms at the Oshkosh Public Library. Community volunteer John Nieman, an advocate for LifeTV, hopes a potential partnership between the two organizations deepens."I'm hoping if something does work out, if the library board does pass something, that we'll be able to schmooze it up a little and give our shows the character it needs. Otherwise it looks like you're just sitting at a conference room table," Nieman said.Oshkosh Public Library representatives emphasized that a partnership with LifeTV is not finalized. The library's Board of Trustees still needs to consider and approve such a move.For NBC26's previous coverage on LifeTV, click here.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less