Newport to buy technology to allow hybrid in-person, remote meetings
NEWPORT – Trying to hear people speaking in the council chamber of City Hall has always been a challenge, partially because of the sound system but also because of the chamber’s acoustics.
The City Council took action Wednesday night to not only resolve those problems but to bring in modern audiovisual technology that will allow hybrid meetings. People sitting at home will be able to watch the meetings and offer back-and-forth comments.
The council approved a $112,094 contract for Custom Computer Specialists, Inc. of Lincoln to install a Cisco WebEx Room Kit and to provide WebEx Services.
“This is TV-quality equipment,” James O’Halloran, the city’s information technology director, told the council.
“There is a possibility that the state will soon mandate each city and town to offer hybrid meetings to their residents,” City Manager Joseph J. Nicholson Jr said. “This project would fulfill that requirement.”
Separately, the council approved a $49,590 contract for Custom Computer to supply and install soundproofing panels for the council chamber.
“Sound dampening panels would complement any new audiovisual equipment that is installed and enhance the quality of the city's hybrid meetings going forward,” Nicholson wrote in a memo to the council.
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He knew this contract would spur more discussion because of the historic character of the council chamber. O’Halloran passed around a sample of the two-inch-thick paneling that would be placed inside wood paneling at the center of the ceiling, in the middle of the wall above the council dais, and over the windows at the back of the chamber.
A sound engineer came in and made the recommendation for that plan, O’Halloran said. The new paneling comes in different colors and could be matched to the cream white of the chamber.
“Quite honestly, it’s quite ugly,” Councilwoman Kathryn Leonard said.
“Do we have to sacrifice the acoustics for the aesthetics?” Nicholson asked.
Leonard asked O’Halloran if there was a paint that could do the same as the foam paneling.
“I’m not aware of that paint,” he answered.
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Installing the foam panels would not require drilling into the walls, O'Halloran said in response to a question from Councilwoman Jamie Bova. She asked what the damage would be if it were decided to remove the soundproofing in a few years.
The contract for the equipment passed on a unanimous 5-0 vote, but the soundproofing passed on a 4-1 vote, with Leonard opposed. Councilwomen Lynn Underwood Ceglie and Elizabeth Fuerte were absent.
O'Halloran is expecting the technology equipment to arrive sometime around the end of November and will take a few days to install.
The new audiovisual equipment will be used by the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Review and Historic District Commission, which all use the council chamber for their meetings.
The total $161,684 investment in the technology equipment and soundproofing will be paid for by federal American Rescue Plan funding, of which the city is receiving about $7.27 million.
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There is $2.41 million the federal government is paying directly to the city and $4.73 million from money paid to Newport Country, which the state is allocating to communities based on their population. The funds are being paid out over a two-year period.
Nicholson said Innovate Newport, the city's technology center on Broadway, was able to purchase a similar Cisco WebEx audio-visual system through a grant it received. O'Halloran said that equipment began arriving this week.
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