New equipment could be first step toward offering
Post# of 5282
Published: June 1, 2015 | Last Modified: June 1, 2015 10:20PM
By Eric Vo Record-Journal staff
WALLINGFORD — Government Access TV will purchase a new video server that could allow the station to offer recordings of town meetings over the Internet.
The system will be purchased from New Jersey-based TelVue Corp. at a cost of $25,000 , said Scott Hanley, manager of Government Access TV. The server will immediately improve the station’s digital bulletin board system, which is used to display information about upcoming town meetings.
“The other one is old enough to be replaced; it’s not reliable at this point,” Hanley said of the current system. “At this point, we’re looking at something that has more robust capability.”
The new system will has the ability to make recorded meetings viewable online, although it is unclear if that will happen immediately.
“The whole purpose of the new system is to purchase something that can take us five to seven years forward,” Hanley said. “So we were careful to select a system that provides us with the option.”
In the past, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. has objected to offering recordings of government online, saying it could add to Hanley’s workload. The state requires municipalities to make DVD copies of meetings available for the public on request.
Dickinson did not return a call for comment Monday.
Because the state mandates DVD copies, there could be “redundancies” in work flow if Hanley also put recordings of meetings online, said Town Council Vice Chairman Tom Laffin. He believes, however, that offering the meetings online would cut down on requests for DVD copies.
The issue of online meetings has been discussed by the Town Council Technology Committee, but other items have a higher priority, Laffin said.
“It’s definitely something on our wish list. It’s something we will be and are working towards,” said Laffin, committee chairman.
Councilor Christine Mansfield, vice chair of the Technology Committee, said the town will have the capability to make government meetings available online after the installation of a fiber optic cable from the Wallingford Public Library to Town Hall.
“We’re waiting enthusiastically,” Mansfield said.
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