During its April 13 meeting, the West University Place city council voted unanimously to approve nearly $100,000 in upgrades for both the city council chambers and conference room. The vote comes after the item initially came to the council during its Jan. 13 meeting.
“Both rooms also serve as training space for staff and residents (CPR, first aid, etc.), meetings for regional professional associations, overflow space during natural emergencies (call center, etc.) and internal staff meetings,” according to an agenda report on the upgrades. “In essence, these rooms serve as versatile space that is adjusted to meet the City’s needs.”
City staff came to the council requesting nearly $53,000 in upgrades, which would have included upgrading the control system, audio and video processors, speakers and microphones, extending the warranty and maintenance of the upgrades to one year, and upgrading the system to a 16-port switch — up from eight — which would allow future expansion.
However, during discussions on the upgrades, Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Trautner recommended more extensive upgrades, including the ability to record audio in both rooms and video conference in the conference room, “So that we can really facilitate all of our meetings,” he said.
Adding video integration between council chambers and conference room; upgrading existing displays with ones that are larger and have higher resolutions; and adding the ability to wirelessly send information for display are the remaining upgrades approved by the council.
Though the council did not vote to include Americans with Disabilities Act listening devices, through a loop system and traditional earbuds, the city could add the system in the future through council approval, said city manager Dave Beach.
CCS Presentation Systems was awarded the contract, selected through a bid process.
