'Moorestown TV' Offers On-Demand Access To Council Meetings On Township Website

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Not being able to attend a council meeting is no longer an excuse to miss Moorestown Council in action.

The "Moorestown TV" section of the township’s website is now live, the Republican members of Council announced on Wednesday.

Meetings will be uploaded in their entirety, and can be viewed by visiting www.moorestown.nj.us and clicking the “Moorestown TV” tab. You can visit the TV page directly by clicking here.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Jan. 3 reorganization meeting had been uploaded, as well as a “Welcome to Moorestown” video and a performance of “Peter and the Wolf.”

Moving forward, council meetings will be available to be viewed online within about two days of the meeting’s conclusion, according to the release issued on Wednesday.

“This Town Council believes strongly in an open and transparent government, and the launch of Moorestown TV continues to prove our commitment to that ideal,” Mayor Manny Delgado said. “Town Council meetings can now be accessed on demand through the municipal website, and soon, residents will also have the option of tuning in to our cable television channel to view these meetings and other events from around our community.”

Town Council previously voted to start the process with vendor TelVue Solutions to record and disseminate recordings of meetings and other events via the internet and cable access television.

The company, based in Mount Laurel, was to provide the township with the equipment needed to broadcast on the Lenape Regional channel on TV and online for $27,327.90. It would cost $5,118 a year to keep it going after that, for up to 10 years.

“I am proud of this latest step being taken to keep our government open to the people who elected us,” Deputy Mayor Stacey Jordan said. “Over the last few years, we have made our Township website more user-friendly, launched Moorestown’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, made it possible for residents to pay their tax and utility bills online, provided additional time for residents to speak at Council meetings, and allowed residents to access ordinances and resolutions online to see exactly what their elected officials are working on at each public meeting.”

The township has been considering a cable channel for a while, and was close to making a decision toward the end of 2015 when the idea of an on-demand/internet component was first introduced.

Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano said it was important that a video on-demand component be included in whatever technology the township ultimately decided to use.

“As liaison to the Telecommunications and Technology Committee, I am very excited to see this vision become a reality,” Napolitano said. “This was a major priority for all of us on Town Council, and I am grateful to our Township staff for working to get this done.”

“During last year’s campaign, posting Town Council meetings online was a major point on the platform Victoria and I ran on,” Councilman Mike Locatell said. “Now, only 10 days after our reorganization meeting, I am overjoyed we can say this promise has been kept. I am proud to be working as a part of this Town Council, and know that this is only the first of many accomplishments we will see in 2017.”