Showing posts with label Meeting Audio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meeting Audio. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Dunwoody setting a trend as access to meeting video grows among city councils.

Full AJC Article

Dunwoody council member John Heneghan has been recording city council meetings on his own since the city incorporated two years ago. He began by capturing the meetings in audio and downloading them to his webpage. Within a year, he used his own expense account to buy a webcam and laptop so he could stream meetings live and archive them.

Heneghan, seated at the far right of the dais during meetings, often can be seen adjusting the camera and panning to whomever is speaking. Other council members seem to have accepted the setup.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Audio of DCPC and City Council Meetings as well as various other blog updates

Today's Bike Rack @ Dunwoody Elementary

April 26 & 29 City Council Meetings

Last week I missed my first couple City Council meetings since the city began and though I wasn't there, I did take steps to have the precedings recorded.
04262010_work.mp3 - agenda
04262010_Voting_Session.mp3 - agenda
04292010_Signs_Meeting_Special.mp3 - Notice
Dunwoody Chamblee Parents Council of May 5

I attended Wednesday mornings DCPC meeting and as I have a tendency to do at public meetings, I recorded it in order to share the presentation with my neighbors. Councilman Robert Wittenstein was there as were Tammy Anderson and Tom Taylor who are both candidates for the state legislature.

I was very impressed with the candor and honesty of Interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson. I won't attempt to give a complete recap of the meeting since the new Dunwoody School Daze blog did such a nice job, but the full audio of the meeting can be found in the links below.
0505201_DCPC_1_intro.mp3
0505201_DCPC_2_Tyson.mp3
0505201_DCPC_3_Radovian.mp3
0505201_DCPC_4_Questions.mp3
Today was also a DCSS Budget committee meeting and there is a recap here.
Misc Dunwoody Blog updates
Today after I walked my son to school, I attended the Dunwoody Green Market and seemed to buy everything Donna Nall bought except that I also bought Lavender soap and Jalapeno jelly.  On Sunday, Donna & I also spent some quality time at the the Dunwoody Nature Center with our families supporting the Odyssey of the Mind team.  Be sure to look for (and financially support) the team at the Children's area of the the Dunwoody Art Festival this weekend.

I haven't talked to Mayor Wright about his position on eduKALB but I am thankful he is there and I like the goal of the organization.  I don't have much insight but some members of the community do have questions on the organization, fund raising and intentions of the DeKalb Chamber.

Besides buying everything in sight at the farmers market, I'm looking forward to spending some money at the Dunwoody Art Festival this weekend.

 The Dunwoody Crier has nothing to fear regarding me or any other blogger on the net.  Bloggers are opinionated blowhards who use the media to reach out to our five or six readers whereas the Crier owns every driveway in town with professional reporters covering in depth the stories that are important to this community.  The rest of us are just hacks - and we know it.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Dunwoody City Council Meeting of Nov 16th with full audio and video

Dunwoody held a special voting meeting to change our workers compensation insurance which we did under necessity and then a motion was made to reconsider the 2010 Budget regarding the City Council health insurance line item which failed to pass when a vote was taken.  There was a small break and then the regularly scheduled work session was held whereby no votes were taken.  It was a long emotionally draining evening so I will just let you listen to the audio and video if you are so inclined.   Reminder that the video allows you to jump ahead but I recommend that you have the agendas in hand when doing so.  Links below.

Please feel free to talk amongst yourselves, I'm going to bed as I have a dentist appointment (with Dr. Marsha Gordon - highly recommend) in about 6 hours and then a full day of work following.  Good night.


Video of Nov 16 Special Voting Meeting and published agenda

Audio 1. Start of meeting

Audio 2. Public Comment

Audio 3. Workers Compensation Insurance

Audio 4. Reconsideration of 2010 Budget - City Council Health Insurance



Video of Nov 16 Regular Work Session and published agenda

Audio 1. Start of meeting & public comment

Audio 2. Introduction of Michael Smith, Public Works Director.
   Introduction of Adriane Creety, Assistant to the City Clerk.

Audio 3. Discussion of backyard chicken raising ordinance.

Audio 4. Discussion of proposed CVBD FY 2010 Budget.

Audio 5. October financial report.

Audio 6. Resolution to adopt fees related to:
   Taxi licenses and escort services

Audio 7. Discussion of business license ordinance.

Audio 8. Certified City of Ethics discussion.

Audio 9. Discussion of Dunwoody Village Design Review Advisory Committee.

Audio 10. Update on contract award for Dunwoody Village TE design.

Audio 11. Discussion of Action Plan for Bicycle Friendly Community.

Audio 12. Update on Radar Signs. Sussessful reduction in speed - signs two weeks out.

Audio 13. First Read: Ordinance to amend Chapter 14: Land Development and Environmental Protection re: Sedimentation and Erosion Control.
Audio 14. Discussion of amendment to Chapter 27: Zoning: Pre-submittal meetings.

Audio 15. Discussion of amendment to Chapter 21: Signs §12: Non-Residential Zoning District Sign Regulation.

Audio 16. Discussion of Census 2010 Complete Count Committee. Great Dunwoody census preview here.

Audio 17. Discussion of utility contractors.

Audio 18. Initiation of text amendments.

Audio 19. Public comment

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Video of the Nov 9th Dunwoody City Council Meeting


Click the photo above for video of Monday's night City Council meeting. 

So far my trial of putting live meeting video to the web has been a success though
I know the number of live viewers are rather small, but then again we haven't discussed anything really controversial either.  To watch the council meetings live the web address will never change, therefore please bookmark it, it is...  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/dunwoodycc

11092009_audio1.mp3
11092009_audio2.mp3
11092009_audio3.mp3
11092009_audio4.mp3
11092009_audio5.mp3

Friday, October 30, 2009

Audio and handouts from Perimeter Center, Comprehensive Plan meeting.

About 40 people attend Thursday night's meeting regarding the future development of the Perimeter Center Area and the next Comprehensive Land Use meeting is Tuesday will be dedicated to Dunwoody Village.

I recorded the audio and have posted the handouts both in this entry and the post below on the Perimeter Livable Center Initiative.  In the handout below, please feel free to complete the questions on the survey and return it to Ms. Kimberly Greer via e-mail or via fax 678-382-6701.

10292009_Perimeter_Comp1.mp3 Intro 
10292009_Perimeter_Comp2.mp3 Ms. Yvonne Williams
10292009_Perimeter_Comp3.mp3 Questions - Statements of Audience
10292009_Perimeter_Comp4.mp3 Closeout

Perimeter Center Character Area

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Live stream of Dunwoody Council Meeting was a success.




On a whim I decided to live stream the City Council meeting to the web and from the way it turned out I would say the experiment was a success.  Click here to see the recorded video.

I streamed the entire 3.5 hours of the meeting live to the web of which I recorded the full three hour limit of the free service I used. (The end of the meeting, including the conversations on Chickens was cut off and was not documented by me.)  Because I was busy preparing the computer and camera, I forgot to do the audio device but will try to include those in the future as a backup.

I believe the video was acceptable but being the camera operator, I never pointed the wide angle camera lens directly around to see myself.  (Probably a good thing but the wife pointed that fact out.)

The sound was mostly acceptable but I had the sound level set for voices about 6 feet away therefore when I spoke the sound was too loud and therefore garbled and full of static.  I will need to find a way to correct the sound in the future.

Though I didn't push it, the statistics of the show state that there were a total of 23 total viewers of the live stream watching at some point during the broadcast.  The joke was that the City Council wives made up the entire viewing bandwidth but I do know from looking at the chat page that Cathy Cobbs of the Dunwoody Crier and Rick Callihan of the Dunwoody Talk blog were online watching.  I was also told that a few interested (scofflaw) chicken owners were also viewing on line since they were afraid to address the council directly for fear of immediate arrest (joking, sort of.).

The available chat and twitter live feeds of the meeting could be both entertaining and informative for the residents watching on-line as well as those live in the audience who could follow along.  We will have to see what becomes of those features?

Though I didn't record the last 30 minutes of the meeting since there was a three hour limit.  The beauty of this is that 95% the video is available to watch at any time.  It also allows you to drag the time line to where you want to start.

A resident came up to me after the meeting and thanked me for doing the video because his wife was able to "be there" watching along with him. 

Another resident stated that video was conceived for the council early in the planning of the city but the fear was that Council Members would purposely play to the camera.  I'm not sure it would matter to a long winded council member if the meeting was recorded or not since he would probably act the same way when there was a reporter in the room; and between Dick from the Crier and Tom of the Dunwoody Neighbor we always seem to have a reporter in the room.

If you watch the video, I would be interested in your comments, both good and bad.

Thanks,

John

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Mixed bag of topics: Audio, Golf, Job, Ethics, Transparency, DCSS Atty Fees & DeKalb D.A.

Monday night's 7 pm meeting started a few minutes late and the public portion was over by 7:15; in fact looking at my audio recorder, I only captured 10 minutes and 41 seconds of audio. All three items passed and we then moved into executive session to discuss real estate.

The audio is here in two parts (1 & 2) if you are interested and here was the agenda.
  • In other news that interests me and maybe you, the City of Dunwoody installed the speed monitor on Womack and the others are coming soon as I believe they were back ordered?

  • For you golfers, the Spruill Center for the Arts is hosting a golf outing next Monday at the Dunwoody Country Club, details here.

Click for news story

  • In reviewing other blogs that you may have missed, the DeKalb County School Watch blog exploded over the Board of Education discussions of legal contracts that were about to be divvied out along racial lines for an extra $800,000. I believe cooler heads prevailed to stop this but it is an indication of how fast they can improperly spend our money. Good thing the DCSS has an office of internal investigations to ferret out waste and illegal wrong doing and a DeKalb D.A. who will prosecute these cases, if ever discovered.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Audio from Sep 28th - Dunwoody City Council Meeting


Agenda and full documents

09282009_Audio_001.mp3
Start of Meeting & Proclamation

09282009_Audio_002.mp3
Public Comment

09282009_Audio_003.mp3 Passed
Budget Policy, Audit Committee, Alcohol Denial procedures
Consent Agenda - Financial Software & traffic ordinance

09282009_Audio_004.mp3 Passed
Dunwoody Overlay

09282009_Audio_005.mp3 Discussed
Zoning change timing - ZBA more then 15 days needed

09282009_Audio_006.mp3 AED's
Thank you Bob Lundsten and to everyone who donated.

09282009_Audio_007.mp3 Passed
Building Permit fees

09282009_Audio_008.mp3 Passed with huge changes
Traffic Calming - back to original DeKalb method, no resident install fee.

09282009_Audio_009.mp3 Passed
Purchasing & Pond extension (5 additional meetings)
Click here for Pond proposal - council changed from 4 to 5.

09282009_Audio_010.mp3
Final Public Comment

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Dunwoody Work Session audio of September 21, 2009

Tonight's Dunwoody City Council work session ran about four hours long but it is at these work sessions where topics are debated and policy is formulated openly which we will see again in next weeks meeting packet for a final vote. If the work session works well, the voting meetings should be rather boring and I am happy with tonight's session so hopefully next weeks session will go much quicker.

With the excessive rain, horrible traffic, flooded basements and school closings the meeting attendance was lighter than usual, so I am happy to provide the audio broken down into individual segments for your listening pleasure. I have listed the amount of time recorded on each item and maybe it will assist you in determining if the item is worth your time. If you need the work documents from the meeting just click here.

Agenda - Work Session
  • 1. Start of meeting - Council Comment (Time: 9m26S)

  • 2. August financial report. (10m37s)

  • 3. Pubic Comment - Traffic Calming (1m50s)

  • 4. City of Dunwoody Budget Policy. (10m01s)

  • 5. Discussion of Financial Software RFP. (19m56s)

  • 6. Discussion of Purchasing Policy. (13m32s)

  • 7. Discussion of Audit Committee and Audit Policy. (15m44s)

  • 8. Traffic calming policy discussion. (20m40s)

  • 9. Ordinance to amend Chapter 17: Traffic and Public Roadways. (0M47s)

  • 10. PUBLIC HEARING - Chapter 27: Zoning, §5A and §5D: Public notice requirements for zoning actions in the City of Dunwoody. (49m35s)

  • 11. Discussion of CVBD employee benefit package. (15m57s)

  • 12. Public notice requirements for zoning actions in the City of Dunwoody and text amendment to Chapter 21: Signs. (2m03s)

  • 13. Street parking at Marcus Jewish Community Center. (19m08s)

  • 14. Discussion of Comprehensive Plan meeting schedule. (21m47s)

  • 15. Discussion of City Council Rules and Procedures regarding meeting schedule. (13m40s)

  • 16. Final citizen public comment and end of meeting. (4m06s)

Monday, August 24, 2009

Audio of the Monday Night Dunwoody City Council Meeting

Start of meeting and Proclamation for Bailiffs

Dunwoody Village Overlay District (First read - no action)

Discussion of Dunwoody CVB funding (How much $$$ does the DCVB need to start? Should we save some for City Branding?)

Building permit fees (Deferred - are the commercial fees too high also?)

Alcohol Beverages to change various distance requirements. (Approved to increase the distance which limits the future number of hard alcohol package stores.)

Auditing Services - (Approved)

District Two DCVB Rep - Mr. Michael Menis (Approved)

Discussion - Sign Ordinance text amendment to Community Council

Break for Executive Session

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Meeting Audio of July 20th Dunwoody City Council Meeting


Follow along on the Agenda or just pick your topic bellow.
  1. Meeting Start, Comments & Boyken 07202009_audio1.mp3
  2. June Financial Report 07202009_audio2.mp3
  3. Sanitation and Website 07202009_audio3.mp3
  4. Grants update 07202009_audio4.mp3
  5. Marcus Jewish Community Parking 07202009_audio5.mp3
  6. Reverse 911 07202009_audio6.mp3
  7. Dunwoody Convention Visitors Bureau 07202009_audio7.mp3
  8. Mid-Year vendor contract discussion 07202009_audio8.mp3
  9. Sustainability Refocus 07202009_audio9.mp3
  10. Traffic Calming Policy 07202009_audio10.mp3
  11. Village Creek Drive 07202009_audio11.mp3
  12. ADA Compliance 07202009_audio12.mp3
  13. London Taxi Cabs 07202009_audio13.mp3
  14. Chamber of Commerce 07202009_audio14.mp3
  15. Council Meeting Schedule and Public Comment 07202009_audio15.mp3
  16. Public Comment - Village Creek Drive 07202009_audio16.mp3
Dunwoody resident, Rick Callihan has been writing some nice commentary on the City Council meetings and has already posted the first of probably several meeting recaps, so please show him some love and check out his site. http://dunwoodytalk.blogspot.com (Rick, I will gladly accept payment of Mellow Mushroom pizza's for mentioning your name & website.)

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Dunwoody Audio of July 13 - Nonprofit CVB, 10 radar speed limit signs, festival approval proceedures, appoved idea of a Community Garden at Brook Run.

Agenda

Audio 1 -Meeting start & public comment (6 speakers, Dunwoody Arts Festival, alcohol fees, city errors on rezoning issues, public assembly, Brook Run Garden proposal)

Audio 2 -Discussion of Dunwoody Convention and Visitors Bureau model. (501C(6) non-profit organization with nine members)

Audio 3
- Authorization to purchase radar speed detection signs (10 signs near schools approved for under under $50,000 installed by Sept or earlier if possible - school start?)

Audio 4 - Ordinance to amend Chapter 23: Streets and Sidewalks, to establish an Adopt-A-Spot program (Approved with the addition of the Dunwoody Preservation Trust included for their recognition for working on adopt a spot program in the past.)

Audio 5 - Ordinance to amend Chapter 27: Zoning Ordinance, §4-54 Walls and Fences (Approved with a requirement to go the ZBA for a variance if to close to a neighbor.)

Audio 6 - Ordinance to amend Chapter 20: Assemblages in Public Places (Approved; removed 6 week blackout period, removed the prohibition of City Council only sponsoring non-profit organizations and removed the forced space for a City Tent at all events. Mark your calendar for the Dunwoody Arts Festival - Mothers Day 2010.)

Audio 7
- RESOLUTION amending the pouring permit and solicitor permit fees (Approved - passed along increased cost.)

Audio 8 -RESOLUTION supporting the establishment of a Community Garden in Brook Run Park (Passed - in the hands of the DeKalb County Commission now since we do not own or control the property.)

Audio 9 - Discussion of Zoning Board of Appeals signage and notification requirements.(Recommended the staff review and improve the ZBA notice requirements, recommendations will come to Community Council and Planning Commission prior to returning to City Council.)

Audio 10 - Public Comment (Real Estate signs disappearing in the right away - request for training as to what is allowed for future placement.)

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

June 8th meeting recap & audio of the Dunwoody City Council


Agenda & Meeting Audio (1h 32 min)
Highlights below as per my perspective and memory.

Denny Shortal announced his campaign for re-election to a four year term on the Dunwoody City Council. Also up for re-election this year if they choose to run again is Dr. Adrian Bonser & Mr. Tom Taylor with the "At Large" members of Wittenstein, Ross and Heneghan serving another two years until their terms are up.

Cleanup of Chapter 27 on Zoning policies and the Community Council passed but look for another revision to this same chapter soon thereby allowing more public notice and more participation in the Community Council process.

Dunwoody United Methodist Church was removed from the Dunwoody Village Overlay.

Perimeter CID gave a nice update on the $2.5 million dollar, Ashford Dunwoody & Mt. Vernon Rd. intersection which is scheduled to be completed in October of 2009. I'm not happy with the design of the non-stop, right hand turn lane onto Mt. Vernon and for pedestrian safety the city may need to install a signalized crosswalk at this location. We also heard a comment that east bound bike traffic would be dangerous due to merging traffic from Ashford Dunwoody. Click here for the full set of drawings. I also asked about the construction traffic on Perimeter Center West which I have heard was adversely affecting restaurant receipts and Mr. Tony Peters admitted that the lane closure policies have been adjusted to improve traffic flow and that night time construction will have to be explored on the next project of this scope.

We had our first of three public hearings on the 2009 Millage Rate - there were a couple of public commenter's looking for us to roll back the taxes vs. keeping them steady. In a year where our financial numbers are not 100% proven (there is no definitive history on City revenues nor expenses), I believe that a roll back of any amount would most likely be a gesture without any real substance, but I can say that this subject will be reviewed seriously by the council. In other news, DeKalb County has announced a 3.73% tax increase from last year.

We set the street light fee which is a line item on your real estate tax bill to be the same as last year (most of the city council promised no new taxes) even though we know that the price charged to the city by Georgia Power for street lights will be going up by some unknown amount in the coming months. Some could say that this is a tax decrease but as I stated previously our financial numbers are not 100% proven (there is no definitive history on revenues, nor expenses), though we are working hard on both ends to make the City work and believe that we are financially sound.

We moved the location of all City Council Meetings to our brand new, very nice City Hall Council Chambers at 41 Perimeter Center East, 30338.

A last minute addition to the agenda was a resolution asking the U.S. Postal System to keep the Dunwoody Village Post Office open. Resident Brian Sims made a nice suggestion that to maintain the Dunwoody Village Post Office we need to expand the 30338 zip code to encompass the Dunwoody portion of the 30360 zip code which is currently served by the Doraville post office on the other side of Buford Highway. We also need to update to the current Dunwoody Zip Codes in order to change the City Designation to Dunwoody for all addresses currently inside the city limits of Dunwoody. I have discussed this in the past and the city is now drafting the documentation needed to make the zip code change request. If you are affected by your zip code being designated as Doraville or Atlanta instead of Dunwoody, now and/or the public meeting of June 22nd might be a good time to voice your opinion.

Finally as I was announcing the upcoming meetings for the week, the City Manager announced that the Special Land Use Permit for the Curry Center, a transitional housing center for alcoholics, has withdrawn their request, therefore it will not be heard at this evenings Planning Commission meeting.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Dunwoody City Council Meeting Audio from May 26th - (School Traffic Update, Dr. Albin, AED, & much more)


Here is the agenda to follow along if you are so inclined.
Beginning until New Business 05262009_audio1.mp3
School Traffic & Road Improvement Update 05262009_audio2.mp3
Comprehensive Plan Presentation 05262009_audio3.mp3
Dr. Robert Albin 05262009_audio4.mp3
Chapter 27 & Community Council 05262009_audio5.mp3
Dunwoody Overlay 05262009_audio6.mp3
AED which was moved to the end of meeting 05262009_audio7.mp3
The Council was given a paper copy of the school traffic / road improvement plan on Tuesday but I have upload the document here.

The story of Dr. Robert Albin & Mr. Jim McNab is quite incredible and I recommend you get the full details from these two news stories as well as the audio from this evening above.

Cheating Death


Cheating Death 2

Monday, May 25, 2009

Audio of the May 18th Dunwoody City Council Meeting.

While I was away Councilman Robert Wittenstein recorded the three hour meeting of May 18th and I have converted and uploaded it for your (and my) listening pleasure. Thank you, Robert.

05182009_audio.mp3

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Gaining perspective from the back row of a Dunwoody City Council Meeting.

For the last eight months I have sat at the front table of every Dunwoody City Council meeting, been in on every conversation, recorded and even published audio of these meetings for those who were unable to attend. I missed the Monday night work session meeting and therefore am in the dark as to what occurred, what conversations took place, who was for, or against, the various items that will be voted upon come next Monday night.

Yesterday I asked for comments from those who were in attendance and I received two replies. Let me share with you the perspective of those sitting in the back row of the audience, those who may have a slightly different perspective from the front row had I been there, since their back row (everyman) perspectives are just as (or more so) valid, informative and even entertaining then what I would perceived took place.

The first reply I received was from Mr. Max Lehmann who provided me the text of his public comment to the council from Monday night where he requested improvements of public notice regarding zoning matters to maximize community awareness of land use and development. He even pointed to the statements that I made in my blog regarding the lack of public notice in our first step of our rezoning process which is the Community Council.
From Fri May 15 blog, It was discovered that the City, unlike DeKalb County, does not require rezoning signs nor notice to neighbors prior to these Community Council meetings therefore the odds of the community actually showing up to fight or support the application is very minimal. I will be looking to have these policies reviewed and changed thereby allowing the community more notice of what is going on.

The other item is that the City website should be making the complete packet of information which is given to the various committee members available on the internet for review to everyone. What appears to be happening now is that just the agenda is being provided on the web and that doesn't have the same detail as the full committee receives.
I haven't had the time to discuss this with other Members of the City Council or Community Development, but these conversations will happen soon. I will be recommending that changes take place to make the rezoning process more transparent in order to give the neighbors more notice when a rezoning is proposed near them; as well as recommend changes to make the Community Council more relevant in bringing about a public discussion of the zoning issues in an informal, open discussion of the interested community.

The second response I received was from Mr. Rick Callahan, a regular at our meetings, who also stood up at the public comment section of Monday's meeting to voice his opinion regarding something on the agenda. He spoke out against City committee members being chosen from outside the City of Dunwoody and I am told that two hours later, he was the only man in the room who wasn't being paid to be there. Rick provided a complete recap of the meeting (except for the short period where he may have fell asleep) from his back row seat. The recap is straight forward, irreverent, opinionated and gives his unique perspective of what he saw. Is it completely accurate? No. I see some flaws in his reporting (the signs on Ashford Dunwoody were a directional sign pointing to the new City Hall & Police Station.) but then again he was sitting in the back row and missed the paper being passed across the front row.

I appreciate the fact that residents like Mr. Lehmann and Mr. Callihan, as well as a few other regular attendees, take the time away from Jack Bower on Monday nights to help guide the City with their insightful & heartfelt public comments. I would like to thank Mr. Rick Callihan for submitting his recap and I look forward to seeing him sitting in the back row again real soon.

If you haven't been to a Dunwoody City Council meeting yet, I highly recommend it to know what is going on in this great City and please do take advantage of the public comment section at the beginning of the meeting.

It was put there just for you. Thanks.