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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDrctn - Streaming of Cmte-Cmsn Meetings STAFF REPORT CITY OF PALM DESERT INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT MEETING DATE: October 26, 2017 REQUEST: Provide direction on streaming committee and commission meetings Request Provide staff with direction on the streaming and video recording of committee and commission meetings. Strategic Plan Although the City's internal I.T. and audio/visual infrastructure is not addressed in the strategic plan, its upgrade supports, and is essential to, all projects and services performed by the City. Background Analysis Currently all City Council, Successor Agency, and Housing Authority meetings have an audio/visual recording and are concurrently streamed live on the Internet through a third party vendor (Granicus), with a few seconds of delay to accommodate closed captioning. At its September 28, 2017, meeting, the Council asked staff to provide an overview of what would be required to create audio/visual recordings of, and stream, committee and commission meetings. The City has seventeen (17) standing committees/commissions which meet in various conference rooms throughout the City. With the exception of the Planning Commission, all of these bodies are advisory to the City Council and action items come to the Council for consideration, thus providing the public with an opportunity to view and participate in discussion of these topics. The calendar for each of these meetings is posted to the City's website, along with their agendas and meeting minutes, allowing the public access to each body's deliberations and recommendations. Creating a video record and streaming meetings requires the following resources: staffing, technology, equipment, and appropriate room configuration. The only meeting room that currently has the capability to record video and stream a meeting is the Council Chamber. No other conference rooms have the technology needed to record video or to stream, although there is ability to record audio in the Administrative Conference Room (ACR). October 26, 2017 - Staff Report Streaming Meetings Page 2 of 2 Council Meetings Streaming a City Council meeting requires at least three (3) staff members to act in concert before and during the meeting. Before the meeting, the City Clerk staff scans and uploads the agenda and all supporting staff reports and documents to the Granicus streaming website. During the meeting, the City Clerk controls the audio feeds, timer, and audio recording. The Deputy City Clerk indexes the meeting audio and video feed with time stamps related to the agenda items. An I.T. staff member, in the AV closet, controls the switching and adjustment of the cameras. The same process would be required to video record and/or stream other meetings. The hours of staff time required are directly related to the size of the agenda and the length of the meeting. Planning Commission The Planning Commission currently meets in the Council Chamber and the recording secretary uses Granicus to post the agenda and staff reports for the meetings. The meetings are not streamed or video recorded. To video record and stream the meeting would require two additional staff members to attend the meeting for this purpose. Because this meeting takes place in the evening, this would involve either incurring overtime or changing these staff members' schedules, in which case they would not be available during the City's regular operating hours for other duties. Other Meetings At this time, to record or stream other committee meetings or study sessions would require that they be moved to the Council Chamber. To record additional meetings in the Council Chamber would require a relatively small setup fee from Granicus for a software template, estimated at $1 ,200 per committee or commission. Staff time to run the audio and video controls, upload the agenda and staff reports, and time stamp the meeting would be the largest ongoing expense and these staff would not be available for other work during these meetings. In addition, moving meetings to the Council Chamber may not be desirable due to the size of the room and its configuration, which is not ideal for smaller meetings. There are also conflicts with overlapping meetings, which would require that some committee/commission meeting dates and time be changed. To stream from other conference rooms would involve a significant investment in audio and video infrastructure, and remodeling, which is not contemplated in this report and would require additional research. It would easily reach into the tens of thousands of dollars and likely require structural changes. November 16, 2017 - Staff Report Streaming Meetings Page 3 of 2 Staff requests Council direction regarding the video recording and/or streaming of committee and commission meetings, including which if any meetings should be recorded and whether additional research should be conducted on the feasibility of outfitting conference rooms for video recording and streaming. dr.° Prep: ed b • ' I. on von Helf,nformation Systems Manager LEGAL REVIEW DEPT. REVI W FINANCIAL REVIEW CITY MANAGER N/A - Lori Carn Robert W. Hargreaves Director of Janet Moore Lauri Ayr ian �✓ City Attorney Administrative Services Director of Finance City Manager ATTACHMENTS: Listing of current regularly scheduled Commission and Committee meetings Current Commissions and Committees: Committee / Commission Normal Meeting date/time Normal Meeting location Architectural Review 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 12:00 pm Community Services Commission Conference Room Art in Public Places Commission 2nd Wednesday at 9:00 am Community Services Conference Room Housing Commission 2"d Wednesday at 3:30 pm North Wing Conference Room Parks and Recreation 1st Tuesday at 8:30 am Administrative Conference Commission Room Planning Commission 1st and 3`d Tuesday at 6:00 pm Council Chamber Public Safety Commission 2"d Wednesday at 3:30 pm Administrative Conference Room Rent Review Commission As Needed Council Chamber Audit, Investment& Finance 4th Tuesday at 10:00 am North Wing Conference Room Committee Building Board of Appeals As Needed Community Services Conference Room Citizens' Advisory Committee for Administrative Conference Project Area No. 4 As Needed Room Citizens' Sustainability Administrative Conference Committee Quarterly Meetings Room Cultural Resources Preservation Administrative Conference Committee Last Tuesday at 9:00 am Room El Paseo Business Association 3rd Tuesday at 8:00 am North Wing Conference Room Hotel & Signature Events 1st Wednesday at 4:00 pm North Wing Conference Room Committee Library Promotion Committee 3rd Wednesday at 3:00 pm Administrative Conference Room Marketing Committee Quarterly on 1st Tuesday at 3:00 Administrative Conference pm Room Youth Committee 1st Monday at 6:00 pm Administrative Conference Room