11/1/17 Council Meeting
By: Joseph L. Kuchie
SOUTH AMBOY – The city of South Amboy is taking the necessary steps to start live streaming city meetings online.
A “videography quote” was placed on last Wednesday’s business meeting agenda for the council to discuss. Alpha Dog, the company that administers the city’s website, will be conducting a three-month trial period in which they send someone to record meetings in South Amboy.
The company will charge the city $475 per meeting plus a hosting fee of $95 for three months during the test run. Councilwoman Zusette Dato asked Business Administrator Stacey Kennedy how the price compares to other towns, while Councilman Tom Reilly asked if the price would go down if the city locked in a long-term deal with the company.
“I can examine that. It is expensive…but if you think about it you have someone coming in and it’s professional quality, it’s captured, we can use it on the web page, we can archive them,” Kennedy said.
“That’s why we’re testing it,” she added. “We’re going to learn as we do it.”
“I think it’s a great service to the town,” Councilman Reilly said.
“It’s the transparency everyone is asking for,” City Clerk Laura Kemble-Kalantsis added.
If the test is successful the city will look to record council, planning board, and SARA meetings down the road. Kennedy also added that these recordings may be able to be run on South Amboy’s local television channels as well.
All council members we in attendance for the business meeting. The next city council meeting will be held on Monday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m.