City approves video webcast for council, other meetings

Lorain City Council meetings will go live online through video webcast in the near future.

On March 25, the Lorain Board of Control approved spending $9,317 to use the SuiteOne program of JCG Technologies to create the broadcasts.

Meetings will be shown live and the recorded video stored for later viewing.

Two days earlier, council held its first meeting that was closed to the public, but webcast using Lorain City Schools’ TV20 online channels.

The closure was due to Ohio’s ban on public gatherings to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Council members and the elected officials each sat spaced at least six feet apart, an appropriate distance to avoid close personal contact.

The expense is a good one because Lorain needs a one-source webcast that is open to the public, said Mayor Jack Bradley.

City officials and staff have discussed video for meetings since Bradley took office in January.

Having video will open meetings to more people and get the city into the 21st century, Bradley said.

Safety-Service Director Max Upton agreed and noted the technology can be used to record other meetings, such as the city Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Commission and Civil Service Commission.

In Lorain, the mayor and safety-service director make up the Board of Control.

Under Ohio law, the recordings also are a public record, meaning anyone from the public can request copies of the recorded deliberations, Bradley said.

In practical terms, the first-floor meeting chamber for council will use three cameras, possibly four, to capture video, said David Comer, city information technology director.

The project will be fasttracked in City Hall; it may be available for the next meeting scheduled April 20, and should be available by the May 18 meeting.

The city will use money from the City Council, Information

Technology and Building, Housing and Planning Departments to cover the cost.

JCG Technologies is based in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“Modern meeting management is not just about meeting recording, creating paperless agenda packets and minutes, or posting your meeting video to the web,” said the company’s proposal for Lorain. “It’s about improving the entire meeting process; saving time, reducing costs, providing better access to meeting information and making everyone’s job easier.” Citizens and staff will have immediate access to meeting content, agendas and minutes, and they can easily search, browse and listen to/view meeting content.

Incidentally, JCG Technologies’ proposal included links to other communities that use the technology.

One of those was Tuscaloosa, Ala., where on March 24, city council held a public hearing to rename a street “Nick’s Kids Avenue” for a center created by legendary University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban.