Minutes of the Thursday, February 17, 2005 PEG Advisory Committee Meeting
Members Present: Ed Newman
Jim Parr
Ross Perry
Merrily Evdokimoff, Associate
Also Present: Anne VanTine, PEG Coordinator
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 PM at the Stow Town Building
Those present discussed the following:
On motion by Perry, seconded by Newman, the minutes from the February 3, 2005 meeting with revisions were approved, unanimously.
The PEG Program Coordinator contract was reviewed. A summary of 2003 salary surveys of comparable positions in other towns was reviewed. .On motion by Perry, seconded by Parr, the position was increased to 20 hours per week, with an annual salary of $15,000, under terms of the existing contract. The motion passed unanimously. The contract will run from December 1, 2004 through November 30, 2005.
The PEG Program Coordinator job description was reviewed and revised to include an annualized list of required activities.
VanTine reported the Leightronix Mini-T-Net was installed on 2/16/05 by Kevin Long from Great Northern Video. Bob Mong was also present during installation.
The committee has begun accepting video tapes from private citizens to be shown on the Cable Channel 9. One tape has been formally submitted. Several people had contacted VanTine expressing interest. Plans were made to make the programming schedule available to the public on the Bulletin Board on Channel 9. Additional future sites will include the Virtual Town Hall on the new Town web site as well as local newspapers.
VanTine reported the price quotations for cablecast equipment were submitted to 4 companies. Quotes are due to be returned by March 3, 2005 and will be opened at the PEG meeting that evening. The ITAC committee was informed of the quote progress.
VanTine reported she has had one response for video-taping a departmental report. The letter informing department heads of the opportunity to video tape a summary of departmental activities and proposed budget needs will be resent, including a final date to sign up, so the tapings may be scheduled for early March.
VanTine reported participation in training on the new Stow Town Web Site (Virtual Town Hall). Plan is to post minutes and agendas on web site, along with a calendar for the committee meetings. The web site also offers the ability to set up a listserve for automatic distribution of minutes if a citizen requests it.
Vadar submitted a $3500 invoice that will be paid from PEG funds.
Perry reported that he had contacted Bolton selectman Ken Troup regarding content from the Bolton PEG channel being cablecast in Stow. Bolton Board of Selectmen will need to vote on it. Perry will follow up.
Evdokimoff has been appointed Custodian of Public Documents for the PEG Committee and will contact Town Administrator to clarify duties.
The Committee reviewed its taped presentation from Feb. 3. Consensus was that the quality of the video was good, but the volume was too low. This audio issue has been discussed with Great Northern video and some possible solutions have been identified. Kevin Long of Great Northern Video recommends a "compressor-limiter and auto-gain" that would cost about $500.
The Committee has discussed possibility of oblong table, similar to one in Hudson Board of Selectmen Meeting Room, for Stow. If the Town plans to purchase a new table, it would be better to plan it prior to installation of the robotic cameras. VanTine will get a quote from the New England Office Supply catalog and give to Perry for consideration at Board of Selectmen meeting next week. The shape of the table may affect number of microphones needed.
Videotaping of Town Meeting. Minimum access needed would be to provide A/V feed to overflow room for checkers. This would require one camera. In order to tape meeting for later viewing would require a minimum of 2 cameras and a video mixer. The video mixer will be ordered as part of the equipment in the price quotes for Warren Room. It is not known if the equipment will be available by Town Meeting. Cameras will need to be borrowed, or purchased. Currently we have one volunteer, Sam DeLuca. Lew Halprin has stated he would like to attend town meeting as a participant. The above information will be relayed to the Board of Selectmen by Perry for their advice on the level of service required.
Victoria DeHessa submitted her resume and offered to volunteer to assist the committee.
VanTine will contact her to find out her interests.
On a motion from Perry and seconded by Parr, unanimous vote, the committee adjourned at 9:30 PM.
Prepared by: _________________________________
Merrily Evdokimoff
| 
