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Resident at public comment says meeting audio is hard to hear; board offers seating and technical fixes
Summary
During public comment a resident who uses hearing devices asked board members to speak louder or allow them to sit closer; the board offered accommodations and discussed problems with meeting recordings and possible fixes.
A resident attending the May 19 special meeting said they have hearing loss and asked the board to speak louder during meetings or allow the resident to move closer to the speakers so hearing devices would pick up the sound.
"I think it's pretty obvious if you look at me that I have hearing difficulties," the public commenter said, asking the board to speak up or let them sit nearer the front. Board members responded by offering to move chairs forward and to let the resident sit where they could hear better.
Other attendees and a board member described problems with meeting recordings: a saved thumb-drive copy of an earlier meeting played at very low volume unless headphones were used, which suggests the issue could be with recording or playback settings rather than only live microphone levels. The chair said he would contact a local recording vendor (Tony at VideoVision) to get recommendations on improving sound quality and noted the town wants recordings to be legible for people watching from home.
The board directed staff to accommodate the resident's seating request at the meeting and to follow up on technical fixes for recording and livestream audio. No formal policy change was made during the meeting; the clerk and chair were asked to look into better recording practices and to confirm improvements at a future meeting.
