No TV airing for Gardens meetings, but maybe web video | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

This should be a "no brainer" for Palm Beach Gardens. You don't need to haul in all the heavy television infrastructure, like dealing with cable companies and expensive cameras. To his credit, City Manager Bornstein saw the need for video broadcast of meetings upon his arrival to Lake Worth. I remember him telling me that he was getting all these outrageously high estimates from the city's IT department on what it would take to do it. Upon hearing this, he told his people to get to Office Depot and pick up a webcam. It ended up being about $50, I think. Now, most of the time, we can enjoy live-streaming of meetings that are held in the City Commission chambers. 

Anyone can take video or record any meeting as long as it doesn't interfere and draw attention to itself in some way. I've gotten into the habit of videoing the City Commission meetings on top of what the city is already doing and putting those on YouTube. By having them in short segments, I think it makes it more accessible for people who are looking for just a specific item. And all the investment there is really my time and the initial cost of good camera, which can be used for other things.

It seems that one Palm Beach Gardens resident has taken matters into his own hands by doing the same thing that I am doing. Click title for link to article.

Webcasting could cost $13,000 to $25,000 for cameras, depending on now many and their quality; the city also would face service charges of $3,000-$25,000 per year, Holdt said. There also could be costs for computer storage of meeting footage for on-demand viewing.
Tarr videotaped most of Thursday’s meeting with a handheld camera and posted some of it on the website YouTube to show how easily it could be done. His tape can be viewed by going to YouTube.com and searching the terms “Palm Beach Gardens City Council Meeting.”
“I don’t think it should be a controversial issue,” he said. “Shouldn’t every city council member want to be open with their constituents?”

This is Mr. Tarr's video of their January 9th meeting - I would recommend investing in a tripod. I applaud his efforts.

The City of Boynton Beach also videos their meetings as a regular part of city operations. It is done fairly professionally and those are posted on YouTube as well. Here is an example of a recent meeting there.