Peachtree City Council wants to study idea to air council meetings on cable TV

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

With costs going down, the Peachtree City Council is looking into what it would take to televise its twice-monthly meetings.

Kenny Faust of AT&T Broadband has already committed to put the necessary equipment in council chambers free of charge. Back in 1998 when the idea was first brought up, that cost was tabbed at $17,000.

Another cost-prohibitive factor back then was an estimate that it would cost $1,000 to videotape each meeting. But that was for a complicated setup, Mayor Bob Lenox said at last week's council meeting.

Council discussed using a simplified broadcast format with a stationary camera that would remain focused on council for the entire meeting. The audio could pick up all the other dialogue in the meeting without having to put each individual speaker on screen, the mayor added.

It was also said that having the camera solely focused on council could discourage "grandstanding" by citizens, council members and other participants.

Councilman Dan Tennant brought the idea up, saying he'd like to bring the council meetings to people who can't come because of health problems or other reasons.

"The important thing is that the citizens can tune in," Tennant said, responding to questions of how many citizens would actually watch the meetings.

Even if it would cost the city $1,000 a meeting to tape each one, it would be worth the cost, Tennant said. He also suggested that the city could solicit sponsors to offset the costs, but City Attorney Rick Lindsey said the city may not legally be able to do that.

Councilman Robert Brooks suggested that the citizens be polled through the monthly Update newsletter the city sends to each household. That way, council could determine whether there has been renewed interest in watching the televised council meetings.

A survey was conducted back in 1998 and 80 percent of those responding said they weren't interested, Brooks noted.

"To me, it's a valid question," Brooks said.

Councilwoman Annie McMenamin said she wondered how many citizens would be interested in watching the meetings, and she also was concerned about how citizens watching at home wouldn't be able to speak and have input at the meetings.

Council decided to direct city staff to research the potential costs of televising the meetings. Council voted to have the matter put on the agenda for its first meeting in January.

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