Agenda Packets - 2008/03/03 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item No. 1A Meeting Date: March 3, 2008 Type of Business: WK WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City Administrator Review: ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Vanessa Van Alstine, Cable Television Coordinator Item Title/Subject: Podium - Council Chambers Date of Report: February 28, 2008 The 2008 cable budget includes $2000 in the Capital Equipment fund (Account #210 – 4350 – 7030) for the purchase of a podium and other council chamber improvements. Staff has been requested to investigate a replacement for the current podium, which is in poor repair and does not meet the needs of the City. There are a wide variety of options available for the podium and other infrastructure to support presentation technology. This report outlines some of these considerations. Background Information The current podium does not meet the needs of staff or residents in presenting information in the Council Chamber. The sloped top causes distortion in the appearance of documents through the ceiling-mounted document camera. The small surface area means that larger- sized documents are hard to arrange for the document camera and staff often must juggle paperwork and reports. The broken microphone stand has been temporarily replaced with a PZM microphone, which is not-well suited for the application and is often covered by paperwork being moved on the podium, resulting in muffled voices and/or loud noises from paper rustling. The lack of casters makes it more difficult to position in the room, and the resulting handling may have contributed to the current state of poor repair. At least one trim panel is missing and another is loose. The finish of the podium does not match the woodwork or trim in the Chamber. Prior to the remodeling of City Hall, the previous podium incorporated a large CRT television monitor. This provided the ability to monitor meeting video coverage, but resulted in a very bulky unit which was difficult to move to accommodate meetings at the dais and at the tables. The old podium was dismantled during the City Hall renovation process.