Lynn council eyes partnership with Lynn CAM to broadcast meetings

LYNN-City Council meetings may be publicly televised for the first time starting in the spring of 2008.The notion has been proposed in the past, but has been repeatedly shot down because it was believed that cameras could not withstand weather fluctuations in City Hall, such as a lack of air conditioning and blasting heat.Despite possible hindrances, City Council President Timothy Phelan said he met with Executive Director of Lynn Community Access TV, Ken Kinna on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of televising meetings.?I think airing the meetings would bring another level of accountability for elected officials because people are definitely going to watch what is said,” he said. “The elderly, disabled and people with just crazy schedules will also be able to keep up with things happening in the city from home.”Councilor At-large Paul Crowley said he has been working closely with Councilor-elect Judith Flanagan Kennedy to formulate a plan to make the project work.Crowley said the idea to bring the meetings into the comfort of residents? homes through Lynn CAM was his campaign promise two years ago and has been a high priority for Kennedy for quite some time.?Lynn is one of the few cities in the entire Commonwealth that does not air meetings and it really is good for the people and the government to do so,” he said.Kinna is currently in the process of taking a closer look at the council chambers to see whether cameras would or would not work in the building.After deciphering a strategy, Phelan said Kinna would report back to him, most likely in January, to recommend where the cameras could be placed and how soon the project could be up and running.?He?s trying to figure out the total cost and work it into his budget,” Phelan said. “The cost of the project will not be borne on tax payers and would give a lot of people the chance to see what?s going on at the meetings.”Lynn Cable Access and Media (Lynn CAM) is a nonprofit public access TV and media station. Kinna said the Chamber of Commerce for months has been urging Lynn CAM to begin broadcasting council meetings.?It?s great news that the city is up for it, but it?s an old building and we haven?t broadcasted from there in a long time,” he said. “There would also be a lot of money involved, so we would have to see how we could manage that.”To help offset costs, Kinna said he would like to explore the possibility of offering local businesses the opportunity to sponsor the meetings.?It?s always something we can look into, but we want to make sure that we can get in there quickly and unobtrusively,” he said. “We also want to make sure that the broadcast looks good if we do go on because Lynn is a big city.”Kinna said options for either robotic cameras that look similar to security cameras could be installed in the council chambers, or something as simple as a person with a tripod camera might work.?At this point everything is pretty premature, so we need to check out the layout of the building and go from there,” he said. “But if we hit the ground running, then February or March is a great goal to start taping.”