Menlo Park council meetings on the Internet Menlo Park council meetings on the Internet (September 07, 2005)

** The city offers live and archived viewing of council meetings.

By Rory Brown

Almanac Staff Writer

Sylvia Vonderlinden, Menlo Park's city clerk, was seeing double during the August 30 City Council meeting: She was watching the meeting like the rest of the audience, and she also was watching it on her laptop computer.

Starting last Tuesday, for the next six months, people can get video streams of council meetings online. Go to menlopark.org, and under "Items of Interest," click on "Watch City Council Meetings."

The meetings are streamed live starting at 7 p.m. each Tuesday that the council is in session. They are available for replay two days later after 5 p.m., said Ms. Vonderlinden. The video stream of each meeting remains in an archive for future viewing.

"We're thrilled about this new service," said Ms. Vonderlinden. "We're making the council meetings much more accessible."

According to Ms. Vonderlinden, viewers will be able to watch meetings in their entirety, fast forward and rewind, or watch specific points of interest.

"People can choose what portion of the meetings they want to watch," she said. "There will be links to the consent calendar, public hearings, regular business and other portions of the meetings."

The service is free to all users, and free to the city for the first six months thanks to a Cable Co-Op Legacy grant of $50,000 received by the Midpeninsula Community Media Center to broadcast council meetings online.

On the Web site, there is a feedback link. Comments submitted will help the city decide whether to continue the service after the free trial is up.

Users must have or download free QuickTime Player software. A faster Internet connection will allow for a higher quality video.
INFORMATION

The Menlo Park City Council will meet Tuesday, September 13, in the council chambers at 701 Laurel St. The agenda is tentatively set to include the adoption of a procedures manual for the council. For information, call 330-6620 or go to menlopark.org and click on "City Council."

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