GLENDALE : Cable Bids Sought to Televise Meetings

After opposing the idea for years, the Glendale City Council voted Tuesday to advertise for bids to design and install a system that would allow the city to televise council meetings on a local cable station.

Council members disapproved of cablecasting council meetings in the past because of costs associated with purchasing and operating the equipment.

Mayor Eileen Givens, Councilman Larry Zarian and Councilwoman Mary Ann Plumley voted for the measure, while Councilman Rick Reyes was opposed and Councilman Sheldon Baker was absent.

The council approved $100,000 of its 1994-95 fiscal year budget for a cablecasting effort after Assistant City Manager Robert McFall estimated a cablecasting system’s cost at $35,000 to $85,000 for equipment and $19,000 for staff.

Previous estimates to install and operate a cable system had run as high as $250,000, Zarian said. He asked the council to reconsider cablecasting its meetings in January after the issue had been dormant for three years.

The city has asked companies to submit bids for the project that will include two to four robotically controlled cameras installed in the council chambers and operated from a small room beneath chambers.

The budget also allows for the purchase of some mobile equipment as part of the plan, McFall said.

The deadline to submit proposals is Aug. 4. They must include recommendations for hiring and training staff to operate the equipment and advice on how to efficiently cablecast other city meetings.

City staff members are compiling a list of possible vendors who will receive proposal applications, including the cities of Pasadena and Burbank, both of which have televised their council meetings, McFall said.

Officials expect it to take about two months to design and install the system after the contract is awarded.

After the cameras are installed, council meetings will be televised and taped for rebroadcast on Sammons Communications’ Channel 21.