THE quality of Golden Plains Shire\u2019s council livestreams is being called into question following poor audio during the regular July meeting.<\/p>\n
Cr Ian Getsom said his wife was watching the livestream of council\u2019s regular meeting which occurred at Smythesdale\u2019s The Well on Tuesday last week and that she struggled to hear the proceedings.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife rang about up about 8pm and said she couldn\u2019t hear a thing, so I told Eric [Braslis, CEO] because you want people to know what\u2019s going on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go on your computer or laptop it goes alright but when you go on the TV screen it really doesn\u2019t. My wife watched it through YouTube on the TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard nothing about any improvements being made to the livestreams. As far as I know, that\u2019s just what it is and it\u2019s not going to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
As well as poorer audio clarity than with meetings held at Bannockburn, connectivity interruptions have often been prevalent with meetings held in the region\u2019s two northern locations at the Linton Community Hub and Smythesdale\u2019s The Well.<\/p>\n
Muffled audio persisted during their July meeting as well as their May meeting also held at Smythesdale, the first 20 mins of which was not livestreamed due to technical issues.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Shire said while they\u2019re looking into improvements at Smythesdale, the same can\u2019t be said for Linton.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil is continuing to investigate options available to improve Smythesdale\u2019s The Well\u2019s audio technology capability,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cost to do similar at Linton is considered prohibitive given the age of the building and the lack of communication backhaul by the telecommunication providers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Well in Smythesdale, partially due to the $100,000 state-funded upgrade associated with the recently installed Digital Hub, provides appropriate internet connectivity, and enables adequate livestream capability.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil considers The Well to be an important place to host council meetings and gives residents in the north an opportunity to attend a meeting in person.\u201d<\/p>\n
By 2023\u2019s end the majority of Golden Plains Shire\u2019s 11 council meetings this year will have been held in the south with six at the Golden Plains Civic Centre in Bannockburn.<\/p>\n
To the north, two will have been at Linton while will three will have taken place at Smythesdale\u2019s The Well.<\/p>\n
With the year\u2019s second Linton meeting to be in November, the spokesperson said there are no plans to improve the location\u2019s connectivity by that time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Linton connection is subject to the constraints of the telecommunication services to the area and the lack of backhaul,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cImproving the connectivity at Linton would require an extensive upgrade of the on-site technology and an increase in bandwidth, including switching and uninterruptible power supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, even with those upgrades, connectivity via Microsoft Teams or Zoom will not only consume the available bandwidth, but the lack of communication backhaul from the telecommunication providers impacts on the quality of the livestream to the point where the stream is lost.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis then materially impacts the benefits of having a technology-based meeting that allows engagement from across Golden Plains Shire and the wider community.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil anticipates that there may be connection issues for the livestream of the November 2023 meeting in Linton, but will record the meeting and upload that recording to council\u2019s website the following day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr Getsom said if meetings are to be held in the region\u2019s north, there needs to be an assurance in the quality of livestreaming.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d think it would be a bit more of a priority since we\u2019re having meetings there. It would be nice if it were improved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur meetings have to be spread around the shire. We\u2019re not all Bannockburn. I think there needs to be that accessibility for everyone so ratepayers can attend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have been doing that in the north. A few people did watch the last livestream. I think I saw about 48 hits on it at one point. They need to continue to be able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The locations for council\u2019s 2024 meetings are to be discussed in December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE quality of Golden Plains Shire\u2019s council livestreams is being called into question following poor audio during the regular July meeting. Cr Ian Getsom said his wife was watching the livestream of council\u2019s regular meeting which occurred at Smythesdale\u2019s The Well on Tuesday last week and that she struggled to hear the proceedings. \u201cMy wife […]<\/p>\n