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Jim Groves agreed. He said one option is to use some of the existing television and <br /> community broadcasting stations. He said these are other ways to make it accessible to the <br /> public. <br /> Chair Jacobs said there was an instance several years ago of a fire in Cary, and <br /> residents were told to shelter inside. He said people in this case have to rely on a television <br /> station, but there is no 24 hour television station in rural Orange County. He said the Board <br /> would be the 24 hours news entity for the residents. <br /> Jim Groves said the most accessible way would be the conference call option. He said <br /> most residents have a telephone, but not everyone has cable or internet access. <br /> Chair Jacobs said part of this concerns what the Board has adopted as the rules of <br /> procedure. He said this would need to be addressed with the attorney. <br /> Chair Jacobs said there are scenarios that would require the Board to meet without <br /> doing so in person. <br /> Jim Groves said phone conference and web conference are the basic options. He said <br /> the top tier would be to have a dedicated video conference, and this could be fully controllable. <br /> He said this would require a dedicated line to each of the Commissioners, the attorney, and <br /> the clerk. He said he did an estimate of 10 dedicated lines. He said these systems, called <br /> polycoms or Cisco, range from $2,000 to $16,000. He priced a middle of the line $6,500 <br /> polycom for 10 lines, which came out to $65,000. He said the internet pipeway required for <br /> each line would be and the lines would be $700 a month, which comes out to $89,000 per <br /> year. He said this brings the total startup cost of$149,000 and then an annual cost of <br /> $84,000. <br /> Commissioner McKee said he does not feel good about spending that type of money <br /> on video conferencing that would only be used for rare occurrences. <br /> Commissioner Price asked for clarification on the conference line. She asked what <br /> would be discussed in a conference call. She wondered if the general public needs to listen in <br /> if there is an emergency situation and the Board is trying to determine a course of action. She <br /> questioned whether the Board can meet in closed session by telephone. She is concerned <br /> that there may be mayhem. <br /> Chair Jacobs said there is no need to have public comment in this case. He said these <br /> calls may be updates from the Emergency Service Director, or the Health Director, and the line <br /> would just allow the public access. He said once four or more of the Commissioners get on a <br /> phone call, it is a public meeting, and the public would need to have access even if they do not <br /> participate. He gave examples of situations where information may need to be shared to make <br /> decisions about how the County should operate. <br /> John Roberts said it is okay to have a conference call meeting, and the Board would <br /> need to amend their procedures to address this. <br /> Chair Jacobs said the call could also be recorded and made available to members of <br /> the public who were not able to be on. <br /> Donna Baker said she would work with the County Attorney's office to update the <br /> Board of County Commissioners' procedures manual to reflect polices on meeting by <br /> conference call. <br /> Commissioner Rich said she received this information in the strategic communications <br /> meeting. She said the opinion was that the video call was overkill, but the communications <br /> team did like the idea of the Commissioners being able to have a meeting in the event of an <br /> emergency. <br /> Commissioner Gordon asked how emergency communications fit into the overall <br /> strategic plan. She said it would be good to contemplate the rules and situations for when <br /> these conference calls need to occur. <br />