El Mirage approves $162,368 AV upgrade for council chambers to improve accessibility and streaming

The Common Council approved a contract with Technology Providers, Inc. under the State of Arizona cooperative contract for up to $162,368.25 to refresh audio‑visual systems in City Council Chambers.

Staff described the chamber as built in 2016 and outlined proposed improvements including camera tracking, integrated voting and microphone queuing, additional surface speakers, a new projector/screen, updated dais microphones with integrated queuing and voting, and Auracast Bluetooth integration for hearing assistance. Staff said the vendor previously implemented the original system and that a compressed procurement path using a state cooperative contract preserved economies of scale for reprogramming.

Council members asked about camera resolution, presets for speaker framing, podium microphone style and procurement comparisons. "These cameras…we're looking to do 3 cameras…with a tracking system," staff said, and explained presets and 4K camera options for improved video quality. Council Member Aldridge emphasized acoustic and ADA clarity needs; staff agreed to hold the vendor accountable for tuning and satisfactory performance.

Council voted to approve the purchase order under the cooperative contract. The project timeline anticipates equipment ordered after PO issuance with construction completed by August 2026.

Next steps: Finance will issue the PO and project management will schedule installation and acceptance testing with a vendor‑provided tuning phase for audio and camera presets.