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Staff outlines AV and broadcast replacement options after repeated failures; council prefers minimum replacement and asks for mockups
Summary
Communications staff told council the 2008 control room system is obsolete and increasingly unreliable; they presented three alternatives (A: core control replacement; B: dais‑mounted displays and futureproofing; C: full audience display) and a straw poll favored proceeding with at least Option A and getting visual mockups and more information on Option B.
Communications Officer Eka Schneider and video production specialist Jeff Shaw presented options for replacing the council chamber broadcast control system and AV. Staff said the control room system is obsolete, not interoperable with modern equipment and increasingly unreliable: "The system is increasingly unreliable," they said, noting four failures in the last two years that required outside support and weeks of downtime. Staff said the chamber displays were installed in 2021 as an interim measure and that the control room needs replacement to keep broadcasts running.
Staff presented three alternatives. Option A replaces the core control/routing and cameras to restore reliability and allow the chamber AV to be used without dedicated control‑room staffing. Option B adds dais‑mounted displays at each council seat (better future flexibility). Option C is a full audience‑facing mounted display or video wall but carries the highest cost and layout tradeoffs given the room shape. Staff said $635,000 had been budgeted in the equipment replacement fund, but the team believes a full Option B (which includes A) could be delivered for under $275,000; council conducted a straw poll: members agreed to proceed with Option A now and asked staff to produce sight‑line mockups and more detail on Option B before committing to the higher scope.
