Forks To Discuss Audio Recordings of BOS Meetings

The Forks Township Board of Supervisors, at its upcoming meeting, will discuss posting audio recordings of meetings onto the municipal website.

Last month, supervisors approved New Arrival Studios, Bethlehem, to come back with cost estimates for an audio system upgrade in municipal chambers and to post the audio onto the municipal website. The township already has an agreement with New Arrival for the municipal website.

New Arrival estimated the cost of upgrading the current analog system to a digital platform at about $2,500.

During the July 21 board meeting, Supervisor David Billings said he would like to further discuss details of the plan with the full board. Supervisors Erik Chuss and Robert Egolf were absent. Approving a motion to put the item on the Aug. 4 meeting’s agenda were Billings and Supervisors C. David Howell and Lilly Gioia.

Once the upgrades are done, other details will have to be worked out, such as how soon after a meeting the audio will be posted and how to archive the recordings.

Details on how meeting minutes will be dictated also have to be worked out, Howell said.

“If our minutes are going to be supported by an audio record, then they don’t have to be so detailed,” he said.

The board also had looked into a video recording option for the meetings. New Arrival estimated that option would cost $4,500, including the cost of equipment and posting the video onto the website. According to township Finance Manager Jim Farley, the analog audio system still would have to be upgraded to digital.