Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Corporate Manager Democratic & Civic Support.

Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 27 September 2018 and its comments will be reported.

The Corporate Manager Democratic & Civic Support presented the report seeking approval to replace all or some of the Audio Visual equipment at both the Civic Centre and the Guildhall so as to improve the meeting experience for those attending the meeting and also for those watching meeting broadcasts via social media. The report gave various options as to how this can be achieved.

The Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee had considered the options and recommended option 3 which not only replaced the Audio and Visual equipment, but improved other aspects including the webcasting of meetings.

The Portfolio Holder for Support Services supported the replacement of the audio and visual equipment but felt that, as technology and equipment for webcasting was a fast moving industry, he could not support the scheme to include this. He did however suggest that to ensure the maximum benefit of improving the audio equipment at the Guildhall was achieved, investigations should be undertaken to improve the sound amplification system with an additional budget of up to £10,000 being made available to do so.

The Chief Finance Officer reported that sufficient funding could be made available to achieve this.

Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 27 September 2018 and its comments were reported.

RECOMMENDED to Council that;

(1)        a budget of up to £55,000 be made available to replace the audio and visual equipment in the Civic Centre and Guildhall; and

(2)        an additional budget of up to £10,000 be made available to improve the sound amplification system at the Guildhall.

To consider the report of the Corporate Manager Democratic & Civic Support.

The Corporate Manager Democratic & Civic Support presented the report which sought approval to replace some or all of the Audio Visual equipment at the Civic Centre and the Guildhall, to improve the meeting experience for those attending and watching meeting broadcasts through social media.

He explained that the existing Audio Visual (AV) equipment used in the meeting rooms at the Civic Centre had been installed as part of the Customer First project in 2005, and the previously used equipment was still in use at the Guildhall, making them over 20 years old. There had been several occasions of the AV equipment failing at both the Civic Centre and Guildhall, impacting on participants of the meeting and the public attending. Numerous complaints had been received about the quality of the broadcasts on Facebook Live.

He informed Members that a permanent solution had been looked at, and that technology had progressed significantly since 2005, allowing various options for Members to consider:-

(1)  Replacing the microphones at both the Civic Centre and Guildhall at a cost of approximately £40,000;

(2)  Replacement of the microphone systems as above, with an upgrade to the visual equipment in the main civic centre meeting rooms. This would include replacing the screens and projectors, with up to date LED screens and all the necessary other equipment at a cost of approximately £55,000;

(3)  Both of the options above, along with the following at a cost of approximately £100,000:-

·         Replacement of the speakers in the Rennes and Bad Homburg rooms;

·         Replacement of the repeater screens (used in the Bad Homburg room to replicate the image shown at Committees on the main screen in Rennes) with LED screens;

·         Replacement of the radio microphones used at some committee meetings;

·         The installation of permanent webcasting cameras in both the Civic Centre and Guildhall, to enable better screening of committee meetings.

The Corporate Manager Democratic & Civic Support provided a breakdown of the costs for the three options, and confirmed that the third option would future proof the facilities within the Civic Centre for a number of years. Although it was the more expensive option, it would save money in the longer term. He advised that any option would require a procurement exercise being undertaken, following the Councils policy guidelines on spending.

The Corporate Manager Democratic & Civic Support provided responses to questions from a Member, who had submitted questions in advance of the meeting. A copy of the questions and together with the responses from The Corporate Manager Democratic & Civic Support are appended to the minutes:-

In response to questions from Members, the Corporate Manager Democratic & Civic Support responded:-

·         Members could choose to split the cost of the available options over a number of years, however the option to buy all the equipment in one purchase would be more cost effective than buying separately;

·         Other Local Authorities in the area, including Plymouth City Council, Teignbridge District Council and Devon County Council, had all invested in top of the range audio and visual equipment for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41