Council approves AMS technology upgrade for chambers; staff cites roughly $90,094 cost over seven years

The Onalaska Common Council voted unanimously to approve a technology upgrade for the council chambers and selected Advanced Multimedia Solutions (AMS) following a staff recommendation.

Joe, a staff member who presented the item, said the council interviewed two vendor responses and that AMS "came in cheaper than the other option." Staff told the council they used a seven-year equipment-life estimate to calculate total cost of ownership and reported pricing "under $90,093.92 over 7 years." Joe said the project goal is to have the system installed by Aug. 1 so the council could use it for the first August meeting before budget season begins: "our goal is to get this in by August 1 so we can knock out that first August meeting with it."

There was discussion about funding and about where the money would come from. Sabrina, a staff member, said she will "come forward in May with how we're going to fund it" and will bring a resolution to cover the cost. The memo in the packet, staff said, contains line-item pricing for the proposal.

A motion to approve AMS as the technology vendor was moved and seconded from the floor; the council voted "aye" and the motion carried unanimously. Staff characterized much of the existing equipment as aging (roughly 10—-12 years old) and said the upgrade would include microphones, cameras and other components.

Two numeric points in the record were unclear: staff referenced an "initial cost" figure described as "1.85" versus "1.82" in the discussion. The transcript does not specify the units (thousands, tens of thousands, or other), so the article reports those numbers as cited but not interpreted. Staff will return in May with a funding resolution if required.