Politics & Government
$35K Grant To Buy New Video, Audio Equipment In Chatham
The upgrades will enhance video quality at township meetings and enable meetings to be live-streamed in the near future.
CHATHAM, NJ — Chatham Township Committee members discussed the tentative timeline for new audio and video equipment planned to be in place for upcoming meetings.
During the most recent Township Committee meeting, Committee Member Mark Lois said new cameras were purchased, as well as new microphones and cables, which will all help to improve the meeting broadcasts.
The equipment is funded by a $35,000 grant from Comcast, with $10,000 appropriated for the most recent purchases, Lois said during a phone interview with Patch on Monday.
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It is possible the new microphones could be in place for the next Township Committee meeting on Feb. 22, Lois added.
The grant monies came from Comcast in 2020, but required approval from the Board of Public Utilities first, said Lois.
Find out what's happening in Chathamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Township Attorney Peter King helped to recently facilitate the grant’s final stages, Lois said.
The new microphones will be fed through an automixer, which can be controlled by operators including the township clerk, Lois added. The microphones can also be switched on and off by people using them and set to automatically shut off when meeting participants are not speaking, he said.
The new video equipment and meeting livestream equipment is expected to be put into place in phases, which he suggested at the Feb. 8 meeting, could begin by March.
The township currently uses lower-resolution Panasonic security cameras, which autoscan and record the meetings, Lois told Patch.
A part-time employee helps with recording meetings and then posts videos to YouTube. The new system is expected to live-stream the meeting on YouTube, with it immediately and automatically uploaded to YouTube when meetings are finished.
The video equipment arrived on Feb. 8, the same day of the most recent Township Committee meeting.
Township Clerk Greg LaConte said during the Feb. 8 meeting that Zoom, the system used for the township meetings' virtual component, also enables live-streaming through Facebook Live.
Watch the Township Committee discussion about the topic in the video clip below:
Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.
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