GUELPH – In what could be a first step toward making council meetings accessible remotely to the public, installation of a $73,000 sound system in the Wellington County council chambers has been approved.
At the April 28 meeting, council endorsed an administration finance and human resources committee recommendation to purchase a Televic G4 Wireless Audio Conference sound system from Stoney Creek-based Soundbox Productions.
A motion introduced by councillor Campbell Cork and approved on Oct. 28 directed staff to prepare a report on the feasibility of making council and committee meetings accessible to the public remotely.
The motion also stated the system should be capable of allowing staff and council members to participate remotely in meetings when necessary.
Councillor Mary Lloyd previously noted an amplification system would be helpful for those who require hearing assistance.
“Just so we’re clear, there’s two components on where this leads us,” said councillor Chris White, who chairs the administration committee, on April 28.
“Physical technology to get a sound system in chamber, that’s a standalone item,” White explained.
“The second piece of that, and that’s for future discussions, will be what that allows council to do, whether it’s hybrid meetings, so on and so forth, and how you want to deal with those.”
He continued, “So first of all, get the technology and make sure that the technology is compatible with potential hybrid meetings and then have that greater conversation later.”
However, White cautioned councillors not to expect the remote access component of the project to be implemented soon.
“Frankly, from where I sit, it’s no closer than probably something for the next council to discuss, because it’s not simple,” he said.
“It looks pretty straight up, but those who’ve done it, experienced it and worked through different things, know you want to make sure you get this right.”
A staff report from clerk Donna Bryce points out the selected system includes three charging stations, 29 gooseneck microphone units and one central unit/wireless access point. The system is compatible with online video conferencing out of the box.
Three quotes, ranging from $56,000 to $80,200 were received.
However the report points out the lowest bid was for a system with poor audio quality and reception issues, while the highest bid system was not online video compatible without purchasing additional equipment.
None of the systems include the installation of cameras in the chamber “as this will be a topic for future discussion,” the report explains.
The report also notes the cost of the sound system and the potential for cameras in the chambers was included in the 2022 budget at $100,000.
“Depending on the sophistication of the system, the range in cost for camera(s) would be $10,000 to $40,000,” the report states.
