Pretty easy to implement. No infrastructure was needed on site. Just a couple hours of time to videotape.

Great spot at 2m50s when Commissioner Ron Aubrey whispers to President Sandra Minogue, who then 3m00s asks me point blank what I was doing.

First hour is posted here.

Thanks for the interesting video. I look forward to seeing the rest of the Board meetings and workshops streaming or playing through your website. Interesting stuff.

Do you do school board meetings as well?

Thanks for posting the video. It still boggles the mind they voted down the audio/video taping of the meetings even with a cost cap of $1000.

It was interesting to see the results of the SARC survey that were put in the packet for this board meeting:

page 62:

Do you plan to drop your membership at SARC and join the new Ackerman fitness center?

Yes -1
No - 25
Don't know - 10

And from the survey comments:

• Why do we have to pay a separate fee for each facility? We can only use one at a time!! This will probably kill SARC or is this the plan??
  
• Of course the self-absorbed jocks who previously dominated the park board never bothered to ask any constituents or communicate anything to the residents they are supposed to be serving.
  

BTW, I can't find part 2 of the video on your website.

Part 2 has not yet been posted. It will go up soon for those of you waiting for any pie slinging.

While taping the GEPD meeting, I noticed a wireless network in the boardroom. Presuming it's a high speed network, it would be very possible (and easy) for GEPD board meetings to be broadcast live on the Internet without ANY additional infrastructure cost (other than borrowing someone's digital video camera and laptop computer).

I'm confident it will happen as the example on GlenEllynLife.com demonstrates how it can be done (free proof of concept courtesy of GlenEllynLife.com). The GEPD board simply needs to commit to doing it, which would certainly demonstrate to the public that it truly desires transparency and seeks to inform its constituents about topics and commissioners' positions being discussed and contemplated during GEPD board meetings.

Here are some interesting facts involving the financial consideration for NOT spending money on broadcasting their meetings:

The GEPD has spent over $10,000,000 of public funds on the Ackerman Park Fieldhouse project (the GEPD's original referendum estimate was for $7.4 million for the fieldhouse project). The GEPD has spent more than $2,500,000 over its original estimate of public funds to complete the project.
Last night the board approved the purchase of fitness equipment for the Fieldhouse at 222,787.60 (individual pieces of equipment ranged between $2,375 on the lower end to $5,420 on the upper end).
The "cost" to broadcast and have accessible the GEPD board meetings would be less than $2,000.

The investment "cost" to provide video recordings of the GEPD board proceedings compared to the cost of the Ackerman Park Project is 0.02%. (Or 1% of the total fitness equipment purchase alone!) The $2,000 investment needed to broadcast their meetings is less than one single piece of new equipment being purchased at the Fieldhouse, and less than half of the cost to acquire a new treadmill ($5,420).

Thought these tidbits might be helpful in putting things into perspective...

quote:

Thanks for the interesting video. I look forward to seeing the rest of the Board meetings and workshops streaming or playing through your website. Interesting stuff.

Do you do school board meetings as well?

This video sample is an experiment in citizen reporting to demonstrate how videorecording technology could be used to help inform the public (it's one of the reasons why GlenEllynLife.com was created in the first place).

If anyone has interest in joining the GlenEllynLife.com citizen reporter team, please email me at editor@glenellynlife.com . We need people who'd like to get involved and have fun!

Part 2 is posted at the same location.

quote:

Originally posted by GlenEllynLife:
Thought these tidbits might be helpful in putting things into perspective...

What I still don't understand is if the recording is just that, a recording. Then you are not seeing anything in real time. If you are seeing it streaming live from your living room couch, then what are you going to do about a situation, or information, that comes up during a meeting? If you are that interested in the proceedings, make time and appear.

BTW, GELife - I would like to be a reporter or recorder of meetings for the glenellynlife.com website. What is the payscale?

BTW - the GEPD public participation policy is this...

Interested parties are requested to sign a sheet in advance of the meeting and restrict comments to 3 minutes.

Pubic comments seem to be restricted to the beginning of the meeting. It's not clear how public comments are solicited during an agenda topic being debated by the board.

If this is true, only allowing public input to the beginning of the meeting certainly restrains public input (unlike public comment at Village Board meetings).

Can anyone else confirm? Perhaps I'll ask VP Pfefferman how that's handled at Village meetings.