Resolution - Communications & Public Engagement: Consider a resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute Purchase Order 364545, with Nelco Media, for Phase II Upgrade of audio and video infrastructure and equipment in City Council Chambers, Communications Studio, and Conference Rooms.
Item Summary
One of the primary functions of the Communications & Public Engagement Department (C&PE) is to broadcast City Council meetings to the public. To adequately continue this, C&PE has worked continuously for the last four years to update, correct, and proactively integrate technology into our studio, control room, and Citizens Tower, as a whole, to be efficient and stay current with communication technologies to reach our citizens.
We have been working with Nelco for the past two years to get our system working and streamlined, and to properly configure all our components to have smooth operations during meetings and more ways to create in-house content. The purpose of Phase II is to update, correct, and proactively integrate state-of-the-art technology into the Studio, Control Room, Council Chambers, and Conference Rooms in Citizens Tower, in order to broadcast City Council meetings to the public and to stay current with communication technologies to reach our citizens.
Phase II of this configuration includes purchase and installation of additional infrastructure and equipment for the following:
Council Chambers: Replacement of the outdated Crestron system (Council Chambers dias and conference rooms interface), to improve the audio and visual quality of meetings.
Communications & Public Engagement (C&PE) Studio: Addition of a third television camera with teleprompter, controls, lenses, and mobile base; Replacement of non-functioning Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) Cameras on the Studio Walls; and Addition of an LED wall to enable background content creation for videos and interviews, as well as creation of shows for Channel 2 and social media platforms.
2nd Floor Conference Room: Addition of three PTZ cameras on the walls, in order to broadcast meetings from this location; Addition of one wide-angle camera and one close-up camera for the speaker, for meetings or workshops; Addition of overhead microphones to enable broadcasts of meetings from the room, if so desired; and Addition of remote streaming equipment to enable live-streaming events or meetings straight to Channel 2 and social platforms.
Communications & Public Engagement (C&PE) Department Offices: Addition of two cameras and 3 microphones to enable current office space to also be used for interviews when the studio is not available.
Funding for this project will come completely from the Cable Services Fund. It is also known as PEG funds which are for public, educational or governmental television channels. This fund receives revenue from cable video service providers charging their customers PEG access channel fees at a set rate per customer, each month. Per Texas law, PEG funds are designated only for items used for content creation for the channel, and items that finance day-to-day operations of public-access channels.
Fiscal Impact
Purchase Order 364545, with Nelco Media, for $785,390 is funded from the Cable Services Fund in the FY 2023-24 Operating Budget.
Staff/Board Recommending
Bill Howerton, Deputy City Manager Lacey Nobles, Director of Communications & Public Engagement
