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Sarasota ADA board approves up to $7,000 to help buy WatchWord Live captioning glasses for Van Weisel
Summary
At its May 11 meeting, the Sarasota ADA advisory board voted to offer up to $7,000 toward WatchWord Live smart captioning glasses for the Van Weisel venue, on condition the city and the venue cover software, installation and ongoing costs; the voice vote carried with no opposition.
The Sarasota ADA advisory board voted on May 11 to offer up to $7,000 to help the Van Weisel venue purchase WatchWord Live smart captioning glasses that display real-time captions to patrons.
"I will make a motion that we will offer to pay for the glasses up to $7,000," the Chair said before members voted by voice in favor of the proposal. The motion conditions the contribution on the city and Van Weisel covering ancillary installation, licensing and software costs.
Staff described the product as WatchWord Live Smart Glasses, which present real-time captions in wearable displays. "They will provide real time captioning in glasses as you're watching the show," the staff member said during the presentation. The quote the board reviewed included hardware, a live-captioning license, labor and travel and totaled about $20,190. Board discussion noted an equipment-only baseline for six pairs would run roughly $6,009 (about $1,165 per pair), but the full system cost, including license and setup, pushed the total higher.
Members discussed alternatives such as funding fewer units, splitting costs, or limiting the board's contribution to hardware only. The board also discussed asking the venue to commit to ongoing maintenance and to assume annual licensing fees; staff said the annual portion of the license was about $3,600 and could be taken on by the Van Weisel.
The vote was a voice vote with no recorded roll call; members said the motion passed and asked staff to document the decision in the minutes and follow up with the venue about next steps. Staff said they will propose a funding split to Van Weisel and the city and report back at a future meeting.
Next steps: staff will confirm final costs and conditions with Van Weisel and the city, draft any written agreement needed to limit the board's financial commitment to hardware, and return with a status report in a subsequent meeting.
