10A Action 2013 0617 - Laserfiche WebLink

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File Number: 13-303 City Council meetings. With today’s busy lifestyles , community members cannot always attend a meeting in the Council Chamber. By videotaping, broadcasting and hosting recorded City Council meetings the City will provide the community the ability to watch City Council meetings live or when it’s more convenient . Video capturing the City Council meetings will provide greater public access to government and support government transparency. The upgrades will provide a system that is built on current state-of-the-art equipment that will last for years and provide a base for upgrading in the future. The City Council’s request to install video cameras in the Council Chamber provided an opportunity for staff to evaluate the current physical configuration and audiovisual equipment installed. The physical configuration of the Chamber does not provide the minimum electrical and data cable to add digital and audio equipment to the dais. The audio equipment currently in use is a system that is over two decades old. Its components are antiquated and replacement parts are extremely difficult to obtain . The poor quality of the audio signal is a result of this old equipment. As part of the audio upgrade, new microphones will also be installed. The voting system and speaker timer used in the Chamber are older than the audio system and spare parts are difficult to locate for them as well ; the voting system and speaker timer will be replaced. The location of the existing video projection screen provides for optimal viewing from the dais, but not from the rest of the seats in the Chamber. Audience members struggle to see the screen from many of the seats, especially those on the east side of the Chamber. Due to the configuration of the Chamber, it is not possible to re-locate the projection screen without a major redesign of the Council Chamber, which is not in the scope of this project. The solution proposed will install additional flat panel monitors on the walls adjacent to the seating that will provide an unobstructed view of the presentations for audience members. The projector used for presentations between the City Clerk’s desk and the speaker podium is not optimally placed. Its location is determined by the screen location and impedes the use of the room lighting remote control interface. The current portable projector will be replaced with a wall mounted projector, which will be affixed to the wall behind the City Council members when they are seated at the dais. High definition video cameras were chosen instead of standard definition cameras. While standard definition video is currently being used for cable and web broadcasting of government proceedings, the trend to high definition is well underway and will most likely be the standard in a couple of years. By installing high definition cameras now, the cameras will not have to be upgraded when this transition happens. The video processor will handle the conversion between the two formats. In addition to the changes outlined above, a document camera will also be installed on the speaker podium. This will provide for viewing of hardcopy documents brought to meetings. There will also be a monitor and new speakers installed in the Sister Cities Gallery for overflow audience seating. Finally, a “press plate” will be installed in the Chamber by the press seating area to allow the capture of a “clean video feed.”. The analysis revealed that there are many systems in the Council Chamber in use today that are either outdated or poorly designed. The audiovisual systems on the market today provide a more integrated environment for controlling the functions of running local government. With a touch pad interface, microphone functionality can be controlled, speaker timer options set, Page 2 City of San Leandro Printed on 6/11/2013