The Town of Lake Cowichan has committed a maximum of $50,995.23 (plus applicable taxes) toward a new audio-visual system for their council chambers.
The Promax Audio Visual Systems will be installed this month and should be ready for council meetings in September.
"We are taking August off so that'll give them time to implement those improvements and run some tests and then off we go for meetings in September," said Mayor Tim McGonigle.
The improvements, which will include additional speakers, will help those particularly at the back of council chambers, to hear what councillors are saying.
"That way I don't have to yell and use my thespian voice," McGonigle said with a chuckle.
What's more, two additional televisions will be added to council chambers to offer a way for citizens attending to follow along with the agenda, staff reports, and the visual presentations of delegates.
But it's not just those attending meetings in person that will benefit from the new technology. The muffled noise that currently accompanies council's streaming of meetings online should also become more audible.
"I'm hoping that it will include an improvement in the YouTube [feed] as well," McGonigle said. "We've been struggling; ever since we started to go online we've been struggling with audio-visual problems. I think the problem is the tech that we're currently using is the Owl System with only one microphone that feeds to the YouTube and with the heat pump sound and other noises in the chambers, it will be mitigated with the upgrades."
