The city is looking to upgrade the audio and video capabilities in various rooms at Columbus City Hall.
The Columbus City Council on Tuesday night will hear the first reading of an ordinance to appropriate $300,000 for the upgrades to the council chambers, the Cal Brand Meeting Room and three conference rooms, according to the ordinance.
Ordinances must be passed on two readings to be approved.
The money will come from what’s called the “City Hall Facilities Misc. Service Fund,” which Executive Director of Administration Eric Frey said is a “catch all for upgrades and things that need to be done around city hall.”
Frey first hinted the upgrades could be coming during a city council meeting on April 2. Human Rights Commissioner Mike Champlin, the liaison to the council, came up during public comment then to mention how he often had trouble following along during the meetings.
“I need your help, and it’s mostly with respect to people with disabilities. And I’m raising my hand— I am part-blind and sitting in the audience throughout your council meetings, it’s horribly hard to hear you and understand you,” Champlin said. “… Just keep it in mind that your voices should be heard— and I would love to hear them better.”
Frey at the time mentioned he had been in talks with Ovation Technology Group, which has a Columbus location, on a proposal to help remedy the issue.
Mayor Mary Ferdon had identified the upgrades as a need early on in her administration, Frey said, and city officials had heard about those having issues hearing in meetings “on a pretty consistent basis” going back into the past.
“That’s something that she had concerns about and wanted to kind of put that on my radar to get with somebody, like in this case, Ovation, to get a quote and get this process moving forward,” Frey said.
City hall already has the ability for the public to attend meetings virtually and meetings are archived online. There are cameras placed in the council chambers and the Cal Brand Meeting Hall which face toward the front. Problems that have been mentioned include poor acoustics and people speaking at varying volumes, which leads to the audio issues.
The upgrades the city is proposing would place a camera from behind and at the front of the rooms, so those who are viewing from home can see who is presenting, rather than just seeing the back of their head as is the case now, Frey said.
Audio-wise, Ovation’s proposal includes sound quality improvements to the rooms’ speaker systems, particularly to the Cal Brand Meeting Room, Frey said. There would also be a voice modulator on microphones to amplify those who are soft speakers and tone down those who speak a little louder.
Frey added he has sought feedback from Champlin and City Councilwoman Grace Kestler on some of the specifics of the upgrades after receiving a quote from Ovation.
“That’s the hope that it’s a much more interactive and pleasant experience to watch and listen, whether you’re there in person or doing it virtually,” Frey said. “So you get, at least hopefully, the same experience, a good experience, either way.”
