As in-person council meetings resumed in Hope in September, the Hope Ratepayers are once again taking on the videotaping of meetings for the public.
Residents can now watch a replay of any council meetings on the District of Hope Ratepayers Association Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/dohratepayers). The district of Hope is working on acquiring the technology to be able to livestream meetings from council chambers, yet it could take into the new year to get this up and running.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, council did not hold in-person meetings. Instead, meetings were held over the videoconferencing app Zoom and livestreamed on the District of Hope’s Facebook page. Prior to this, the ratepayers had been videotaping council meetings for the public for over 7 years said John Duff with the organization.
In a Sept. 27 meeting, council authorized the district to sole-source the needed upgrades to its video and sound recording, broadcasting and interactive equipment. The $40,000 cost of the equipment will come from provincial COVID Restart Funding, which councillor Medlock commented was a good use of the grant and won’t affect residents’ taxes.
The company sourced to do this work for council, which wasn’t named at the council meeting, works with the Fraser Valley Regional District, Chawathil First Nation, Sto:lo Tribal Council and others. The company also did sound engineering for the district in November 2020 when public hearings were held for BC Housing’s proposed supportive housing plans in Hope. Sourcing the parts for the upgrade could take until well after Christmas said chief administrative officer John Fortoloczky.
The next regular council meeting is set for Oct. 25, council agendas can be viewed at https://hope.ca/document-library.
Links:
Hope Ratepayers Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dohratepayers
Photos:
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Hope’s ratepayers association is once again the entity videotaping council meetings, after in-person meetings resumed and the district stopped livestreaming the meetings. (Facebook screenshot)