For a city to be run efficiently, residents must have access to their government officials and other leaders associated with them. Residents must be able to see these individuals as transparent and accessible. One method West Haven tries to do this is by broadcasting City Council, commission, and board meetings on the city’s YouTube channel.
Currently, individuals must employ a third party to use mobile equipment to tape and record any meetings that take place in the City Council chambers as well as the Harriet North and third floor conference rooms at City Hall. These videos are then published on the channel. Because of this arrangement, meetings cannot be broadcast live to the community. In addition, the sound and visuals in the videos can be of subpar equality. To improve the audio and visual quality of meetings which are taped and recorded and broadcast live, the West Haven government has turned to DNR Laboratories of Watertown.
The West Haven ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Committee decided to use DNR to design and build a new sound and video (AV) system at these locations in City Hall, and then train individuals in how to use it. The bidding process was focused on finding a company which would allow West Haven to reduce the operating costs of recording, taping, and broadcasting meetings over time. The ARPA Committee, led by Chairman Ken Carney, were also hoping to save money by selecting a company that would not only build but also design the AV system.
“Using various mobile equipment to record meetings was inconvenient and costly,” Carney said. “The idea is that by outfitting these rooms with new AV equipment and providing resources, anyone who holds meetings can create video and audio records of the meetings and broadcast them live on their own. The committee is confident this will allow the city government to be more transparent and accessible to residents.”
The ARPA Committee was given $200,000 to spend on this project. After releasing an RFP describing it, the committee had five companies attend the walk through to install an AV system in the City Council, Harriet North and third floor conference rooms, and provide resources like training to employees. Committee members then quickly discovered that DNR Laboratories was the only bidder that would both design and install the technology needed. DNR bid $180,000 and won the project.
Xavier Boyer, a sales engineer and senior project manager at DNR, went into detail about why the company submitted a bid to the ARPA Committee.
“We felt we could enhance the (communications) experience of not only the city government staff, but the residents of West Haven and all affected by the decisions made and conversations had at the City Hall,” Boyer said.
West Haven’s IT Department then helped the ARPA Committee do a scope review of DNR, which determined that DNR’s price for working on the project was fair and met the requirements of the RFP. The IT Department assisted the committee throughout the process of finding bidders and choosing one to hire. Boyer said DNR staff members have formed a strong working relationship with Carney and West Haven government employees.
On its company website, DNR Labs describes itself as an audio and video system integrator focused on “design, installation, customer service and education.” DNR has existed for over 15 years and completes over 30 installations of various sizes each year in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. The company works on similar projects for communities throughout the state and is currently working with over 50 communities in Connecticut.
“Truly creating a “solution” and not just a temporary fix means you really get to know your clients, their space, and the challenges at hand,” Boyer said. This ideology has led to the success of DNR and our projects as we’ve grown throughout the years.”
DNR has already designed the AV system in the Council chambers, Harriet North room and third floor conference room at City Hall. Boyer described the design process as rigorous, collaborative, and thorough.
DNR will begin building the system in the three rooms at West Haven City Hall at the very start of July, and that is expected to take the entire month. DNR employees will train government employees in how to use the AV system and its innerworkings throughout August.
Carney is confident that the project will cost exactly as much as DNR’s bid of $180,00. This would result in the project coming in $20,000 under budget.
Carney said the new AV system will help West Haven government more easily communicate with residents and help them more easily understand the work the government is doing.
“If everyone leading meetings can operate this equipment at the push of a button without issue, they will be very happy. By recording meetings this way, immediate communication with the public will be better and you will stamp out rumors and any false information among them,” he said.