St. Augustine Record Editorial: Live from City Hall, a new reality series

Posted: January 30, 2014 - 12:06am
If you’re into reality TV, there’s a new show heading your way. Actually, you’ll watch it on your home computer, tablet or mobile device. And, technically speaking, you could use linking technology to move the picture from the computer to the big-screen TV hanging over the fireplace. It’s a techie thing.
The show stars local talent: Joe Boles, Nancy Sikes-Kline, Roxanne Horvath, Leanna Freeman and Don Crichlow, with a supporting cast of Ed Slavin and B.J. Kalaidi. While the marketing boys are still tossing around the name of the new series, “All My Commissioners” is a favorite. With all the replica ships tied up at the municipal marina lately, and maybe a new one on the way, “Dock Dynasty” is getting some traction as well.
All this is, admittedly, a silly way to say that the city of St. Augustine OK’d an agreement to begin providing live video streaming of its meetings. And we think that’s a very good thing.
In the coming months, The Record will be knee-deep in an unabashed effort to bring civic engagement to the forefront whenever the opportunity presents itself: Like now.
Any method that draws the public into closer proximity to elected officials, civic organizations, nonprofits and all the engines that power our communities is, from where we sit, heading in the right direction.
And making city meetings easier for you to see is a good one. Yes, we have had — lately quite intermittent — live cable TV coverage and rebroadcasts. But the new system will allow you to pick and choose when and where and how you watch.
The content of our City Commission, Historic Architectural Review Board and Planning and Zoning Agency will all be webcast initially. Vision meetings or any other gathering in the Alcazar Room could be added to the content.
All the footage is archived. You can sort through meetings chronologically or by jump-to markers embedded in the audio/visual clips.
But it’s not only the city.
St. Johns County is already on this system and likes where it’s heading. St. Augustine Beach is doing a home version of it — minus some of the bells and whistles. And to its credit, it’s doing it in-house.
The thing is, the new system will make government more accessible. You might be surprised at how entertaining government meetings can be at times. The mayor can usually be counted on to help with that.
Tune in when you can.

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"Anonymity liberates hostility." -- Kathleen Parker, columnist, The Washington Post

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PointsClara Waldhari 01/30/14 - 08:36 am 00Terrific Idea!

We are seeing the "spirit of transparency"! I doubly love that meetings can be revisited easily. An excellent function.

In the continuing spirit of good will, it would be excellent if the commission upped the 3-minute public comment rule to 5 minutes.

Three minutes is time-miserly. With so much good stuff happening, it would be a shot in the arm to the community to have a new maximum of 5 minutes' access to the City Commission.

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1624 POINTS View Profile ~~~~~~~~~~
"Anonymity liberates hostility." -- Kathleen Parker, columnist, The Washington Post

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PointsClara Waldhari 01/30/14 - 09:53 am 00p.s.

I'm thinking "Matlock" more than "All My Commissioners," but that one made me chuckle!