City upgrades council chambers
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on September 15, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com A new season of council meetings is here and with it a redesigned space in City Hall.The City has done some technology upgrades and infrastructure additions to council chambers which were seen for the first time when the Economic Standing Policy Committee met on Wednesday.
That committee consists of the mayor and all members of council who will be meeting again for their first council meeting of the fall on Tuesday. At that meeting, council will deal with four bylaws for first reading, one bylaw for second and third readings and a verbal presentation by Community Social Development general manager Andrew Malcolm on the City’s encampment strategy.
The changes to council chambers will make the viewing experience better for people watching meetings live or online.
Council chambers this summer saw the replacement of the viewing screens that were on three walls of the room as well as the installation of four new automatic cameras. Also installed were new audio tabletop units with microphones for better audio clarity on livestreams, says the City.
Electronic nameplates have been installed which can be quickly changed for different users and meeting types.
At Wednesday’s Economic Standing Policy Committee meeting, the upgrades were immediately noticeable. Information on the large screens was crisp, voices of speakers could be heard more clearly and audience members could see which council member in chambers was in the queue to speak or was speaking thanks to red or green illumination atop their name boards and on microphones.
The City says the upgrades will not only support the needs of council but “will also enhance the adaptability for other meetings in Council Chamber, such as the Lethbridge Police Commission and other Boards, Commissions and Committees.”
While council meetings have been livestreamed since 2011, some chamber infrastructure hadn’t been upgraded since City Hall opened back in 2000.
“These upgrades will ensure better reliability and amplify the meeting experience for Council members, as well as strengthen the public’s ability to participate in the democratic process. The 2023 upgrades are being funded through existing lifecycle budgets,” says the City.
One change followers of the social media platform now called X will see is that meeting updates will no longer be posted there via the City Clerk’s account. Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter 4
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