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Request for Council Action Date: December 9, 2002 Item Number: III. A. Department Approval Manager Approval Agenda Section Etc& Presentations Item Description: Presentation on Audio-Visual Equipment for Council Chambers Backwound The Government Access cable Channel 16/in-house production system at Roseville City Hall was installed in the City Council chambers in 1990. From 1990 through 2000 some equipment was replaced as needed and modest upgrades were made. Concerns about the need for a more significant upgrade of the equipment were presented to the Council at its June 19, 2000 work session and the August 24, 2001 work session. Those concerns included addressing problems including less than desirable audio and video both for the viewing audience and for Council and audience members in the chambers. Staff also identified a series of steps to address those concerns. Staff proposed hiring a consultant at the 2000 work session. Council gave no direction on that proposal, instead budgeting money for equipment only. Staff re-examined the issue after hiring Communications Specialist Tim Pratt who had more than a decade of experience in broadcasting. At the direction of Assistant City Manager Christine Butterfield, Pratt established a Committee comprised of City staff members Terre Heiser and Jamie Green and staff members of government access consortiums Andre Bane (CTS and Tim Gaffron ,(Northwest Community TV) to review and prioritize residents' needs for improved viewing and participation in public meetings. The Committee also received design advice from Consultant Jeff Volk of Alpha Video. Committee members then used the priorities established by the Council to address equipment solutions for 2001 and for 2002 (see attached memo). New cameras, microphones and room speakers were installed in 2001. In 2002, an assisted listening system and new switcher have been installed. Installation will begin shortly for flat panel monitors on the dais so Council Members can more easily and clearly see items shown at the presentation desk (see attached diagram). The Committee also proposed a mobile 50" plasma display monitor that would replace the television on the cart. This plasmaa display monitor will allow Council Members to more easily and clearly see items shown at the presentation desk during work sessions. The plasma display monitor would also be used by Commissions such as Parks and Recreation and affiliated government working groups such as the I-35W Corridor Coalition that routinely have multi-media presentations, and it could be moved to the Emergency Operations Center and used to display up-to-the-minute tracking of emergency recovery operations. At its September 23 meeting, the Council asked staff for more information on the plasma display monitor and how it fits into the long range planning for equipment needs in the Council Chambers. According to the Telecommunications Capital Improvement Plan, the current room monitors are scheduled for replacement in 2003. The current system could be replaced with similar equipment, but a plasma monitor is more versatile; better meets the needs of the public, Council and Commission members; and is more environmentally friendly than the current system. Other LCD display systems are more expensive and their effectiveness is hampered by the space and lighting limitations in the Council Chambers. (Attached is pricing information on other display systems.) A demonstration of the uses of a plasma monitor may best meet the Council's request for more information,