Town to Get Cost Estimates for Streaming Meetings

The town is looking to see just how much it would cost to "stream" and archive meetings held by the Board of Selectmen and possibly others.

At a recent meeting, The BOS authorized Chief Administrative Officer Robert Skinner to send out a Request for Proposals for the Web-based service. The RFP would involve a price quote and description for each proposal. It would not involve any financial commitment from the town.

"The board is considering it as another option to provide more information to the public," First Selectman Richard Barlow said.

Two members of the BOS were absent from the meeting but the three remaining ones voted to send out the RFP.

Selectman Bruce Lockwood requested the town require the ability to see a demonstration of a system before committing to it.

Lockwood made the motion to send out the RFP. Selectman David W. Gilchrist seconded it, with some reservation.

"I'll second it as long as it doesn't cost anything because I seriously question its benefit to the town,” he said.

Most other selectmen have been more receptive to the idea, pointing out that people could watch the meetings when their schedules allowed.

The cost of systems varies. Some are in the thousands. At a previous meeting Skinner said others involve an initial fee around $1,500 and then a monthly fee - about $25 – for up to 60 hours of footage. Such systems generally archive the video on a remote server so the town's Web site does not run into storage and bandwidth problems.

Cost also depends on the sophistication of the technology and factors whether the town buys its own cameras to mount on a tripod or similar system or whether some kind of semi-permanent cameras are installed in some of the meeting rooms.

Barlow said the town needs flexibility but more than a camera on "the back of a chair."

"We want to have something that's representative of current technology too," he said.

Some residents have expressed concerns that cameras could make people nervous and less talkative.

At its most recent meeting, Gary Miller urged selectmen to make sure such a technology would not limit discussion.

"I hope you would still hold good, candid discussions," Miller said.

Once the board knows exactly how much it would need to spend, it would have to vote to accept the idea and figure out how and when to pay for it.