02-07-2012 - Video Web Casting of City Council MeetingsL
City of West Covina
Memorandum
TO: Andrew G. Pasmant, City Manager
and City Council
FROM: Chris Freeland, Deputy City Manager
AGENDA
ITEM NO. 5
DATE February 7, 2012
SUBJECT: VIDEO WEB CASTING OF CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council receive and file this informational report.
DISCUSSION:
In 2010, the City of West Covina authorized the purchase of the SIRE Technologies Audio and
Minutes Plus System. The system was designed to optimally work in tandem with an electronic
agenda process by uploading the entire agenda to the website. The system provides live audio of
the City Council meetings on the City's website and allows City staff to use the automated
indexing system to time stamp the audio for each item on the agenda, without interfering with the
live audio. For example, at the beginning of oral communications, City staff indexes (time
stamp) the portion on the digital agenda that oral communications has begun. City staff will then
time stamp the next item on the agenda when it begins. This system allows visitors to select
individual agenda items and replay the audio portion of that item without having to listen to
hours of audio from one meeting. The system also allows City Council meetings to be available
live over the Internet or replayed by residents. Annual maintenance cost for the current system is
$11,200 ($5,850 in General Funds and $5,350 in CDC funds) shared between the City and
Community Development Commission (CDC).
• Total cost to maintain the current audio system on the website is $11,200 annually in General
Funds.
At the December 20, 2011, City Council meeting, the City Council requested City staff to look
into opportunities to add video coverage of the meetings on the website. City staff has contacted
SIRE Technologies to obtain a quote to add video of the City Council meetings to the existing
system. It is estimated that the upgrade would cost about $13,000 the first year with an
additional $600 in annual maintenance costs. The upgrades could be funded through Public,
Education, and Government (PEG) fees with the annual maintenance costs paid by the General
Fund.
• Total cost to provide video of City Council meetings on the website only is $13,000 (PEG
Funds) in upgrades and $11,800 (General Funds) annually for maintenance.
The City Council also asked to look at the possibility of adding the Planning Commission
meetings to the web site. Since the digital agenda process mentioned above is not currently in
place for the Planning Commission, the City would need to purchase additional hardware and
software for the Planning Commission, train City staff on the new system, and make changes to
the website. SIRE Technologies estimates the additional cost to add the Planning Commission to
the City website with video would be an additional $17,000 plus an annual maintenance fee of
$1,250. Again, the upgrades could be funded through Public, Education, and Government (PEG)
fees with the annual maintenance costs paid by the General Fund.
• Total cost to provide video of City Council and Planning Commission meetings on the
website only is $30,000 (PEG Funds) in upgrades and $12,450 (General Funds) annually for
maintenance.
The City Council asked that City staff look at the possibility of airing City Council meetings on
Charter Communications. Previously, the City of West Covina spent approximately $180,000
for the operation of WCCT. This included the services of two full-time production assistants
($61,000 each per year) and the contract with Mount San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) for the
technical/hardware operations and programming of WCCT (24 hours a day) at an annual cost of
approximately $58,000. In addition, Mt. SAC hosts the cable feed, which means that the video
goes from the City Council Chambers to Mt. SAC, where it is converted into a video that is
relayed to Charter Communications and then to residents. To relocate the feed to City Hall
would require the construction of a new production studio/control room at a cost of
approximately $250,000, plus necessary staffing funded by the General Fund.
After a brief review of the City's cable control room, Mt. SAC estimates that there is
approximately $10,000 in capital costs to make the current system operational, but that cost
could increase once the gets started to upgrade the system. This does not include any ongoing
costs to maintain the video feed and equipment in the City Council Chambers. Based on the
contract with Mt. SAC from 2008, City staff estimates this monthly cost to provide coverage of
City Council and Planning Commission meetings to be approximately $8,400/year. This will
only provide live coverage of the meetings and does not include replays of the meeting, which
would incur additional costs.
At the December 20, 2011, City Council meeting, it was also suggested by the City Council to
contact the City of Signal Hill, which a resident commented was receiving free services from
Charter Communications. City staff contacted the City Manager's Office in Signal Hill. They
confirmed that they were previously receiving the free service from Charter Communications, but
with the deregulation of the cable industry, the City of Signal Hill is now paying to have the PEG
channel operational. Signal Hill is paying Charter Communications $690/month to transmit on
the PEG channel and the City is also paying for an employee to operate the cable television
system. Based on the information from Signal Hill, this would add $8,280 to the $8,400 monthly
fees mentioned above.
• Total cost to provide Charter Communications cable video coverage of City Council and
Planning Commission meetings is $40,000 (PEG Funds) in upgrades and $29,130 (General
Fund) annually for maintenance and operations with Mt. SAC.
This upgrade would only benefit Charter Communication customers, as the public access channel
is not available on Verizon FIOS, DirectTV, Dish Network, etc.
ALTERNATIVES:
The City Council has the following alternatives available:
1. Receive and File this informational report.
audio of City Council meetings at an
(Recommended).
This action will also maintain the current live
annual cost of $11,200 in General Funds.
2. Instruct City staff to upgrade the SIRE System to provide video of City Council meetings
on the website only, at a cost of. $24,800. This includes $13,000 in upgrades (PEG
Funds) and annual maintenance fees of $11,800 (General Funds).
3. Instruct City staff to upgrade the SIRE System to provide video of City Council and
Planning Commission meetings on the website only, at a cost of $42,450. This includes
$30,000 in upgrades (PEG Funds) and annual maintenance fees of $12,450 (General
Funds).
4. Instruct City staff to upgrade the SIRE System to provide video of City Council and
Planning Commission meetings on the website and Charter Communications cable
television, at a cost of $69,130. This includes $40,000 in upgrades (PEG Funds) and
annual maintenance fees of $29,130 (General Funds).
5. Provide alternative direction.
• 0
FISCAL IMPACT:
City staff is recommending that the City Council receive and file this informational report due to
the recent elimination of redevelopment agencies that will put an additional $4.8 million burden
on the City's General Fund. City staff is not recommending providing video coverage of City
Council meetings, as it will increase the financial burden to the General Fund.
Prepared by:
Chris Freeland
Deputy City Manager