Broadcast of council meetings on hold

Contract details delay taping of meetings by MLHS students

The recording of city council meetings has turned into a matter of lights, camera and patience.

Councilman Lee Blackwell hinted that given the support the idea of recording city council meetings has received, it is just a matter of time until the meetings begin being broadcast on public access TV by Moses Lake High School students.

"I haven't heard anybody say no, and I have talked to a bunch of people," he said. "Everybody, including other councilmen, is in favor."

Despite this support, there is a substantial amount of contractual questions keeping the fingers away from the record button.

P.J. De Benedetti, from the Moses Lake School District, said that most of the contractual matters holding up a final decision are details such as who is responsible for the equipment during the tapings. He said that none of these matters is a deal breaker.

"Everything can be worked out," he said, denying that money could become an issue that could put the recordings on hold.

"I don't think there is any dispute between the city and the district over the costs," he said.

De Benedetti added that it is up to the city to decide whether they can afford the costs of having the city council meetings recorded.

Blackwell said the initial costs for equipment were different from the estimates later received from vendors. He said that while the initial amounts went up to between $300 and $400, vendors had given the city a quote of $1,300.

Blackwell, the original supporter of the recordings, said he told city councilmen that if the city felt it could not afford to spend the money, he would go out and find donations. He said that if it were up to him, he would support the city paying the money, if it would lead to having a more involved citizenry.

"I would say yes," he said. "Pay $1,300 so that citizens can be better informed? I am in favor of that. But it is up to seven people," he added, referring to himself and the six other councilmen.

Blackwell said that the meetings would start being recorded as soon as a contractual agreement is reached.

"It came to a point," Blackwell said, "where the school district said they would like to begin recording but they would like meetings to start at 6 p.m., to give kids more homework time on school nights."

City manager Joe Gavinski said that Bob Schroeder, the instructor of the video-recording class at Moses Lake High School that would put the recordings together, said he had some discrepancies with the way the contract had been initially drafted.

Blackwell corroborated the city manager's words, saying that Schroeder "had made some notations on things he did not understand," but that they were mostly contractual stuff, and "no major issues."

What could become a major issue is the broadcasting of the city council meetings during the summer months, where the kids are out of school.

"We would like to have adequate coverage over the summer," he said. "We need to sit down and figure out how we are going to do it."

Blackwell said a 7 p.m. start time keeps an important part of the population away from taking part in the city's decisions.

"There are a lot of people who can't get out of their homes and would like to see the meetings," he said. "Many citizens are infirm and can't make it to the meeting. In bad weather, people don't want to come out."

Mayor Ron Covey said that there were still some questions regarding a 6 p.m. start time. "Some people can't get out of work and make it to the meeting on time."