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LAKEPORT – The Lakeport City Council will discuss at its Tuesday meeting whether or not to Webcast its meetings in an effort to make meetings more accessible and support transparency in government.
The meeting will start at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
At the council's Nov. 6 meeting, Andrea Anderson donated a Webcam to the city in order to televise its meetings.
Anderson was one of only a handful of members of the public who attended a city goal setting session on Oct. 30. At that meeting, Anderson discovered that the city didn't have the capability of copying cassette tapes of its meetings, much less televising them.
Making City Council meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of the month is difficult for Anderson. She uses a wheelchair and cannot attend because the Dial-A-Ride service is not available in the evenings.
City Engineer Scott Harter will present the matter to the council.
His report to the council said it was decided at a staff meeting that they should look at the requirements and costs for Webcasting.
Harter suggests that with a “minimal investment in hardware, some of which has been offered as a donation,” the city could provide a video Webstream on its Web site. That would allow members of the public who are unable to attend the council meetings “to be informed and better involved in local government issues,” he reported.
The effort's primary fiscal impact, according to Harter, would be the cost of a contract with a streaming video host provider. Harter's estimates so far are in the range of $100 to setup and $39 to $129 per month depending on the amount of data which is broadcast.
Although it would benefit the public and help the city meet Americans with Disabilities Act goals, Harter's report estimates the Webcast costs could reach “$1,700 the first year and $1,550 thereafter and is not budgeted for in the current budget.”
It will be up to the council to decide if it wants the Webcasting or if it's an “option to consider it in future budget years.”
Other items on the Tuesday agenda:
– A resolution by the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District “authorizing the execution and delivery of an installation purchase agreement, a bond purchase agreement, and an official statement and a continuing disclosure certificate, and authorizing certain related matters.”
– A resolution approve the Plaza Paint parcel map.
– A request for winter suspension from Valley Slurry Seal.
– Adoption of ordinance No. 868 revising the Zoning Ordinance to allow single-family residential uses within the C-1 Light Retail Zoning District.
– Councilman Ron Bertsch has asked for a discussion of Ordinance No. 837, passed in 2005, that provides for reduced development in historic areas and subdivisions.
The council also will hold a closed session regarding labor negotiations with the Lakeport Employees Association.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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