Attendees at Brookfield's Common Council meetings - and those who watch the proceedings on the city's public access channel - might have noticed the council chambers have a new look.
A nearly $30,000 renovation, completed earlier this month, reorganized seating for the mayor and the city's 14 aldermen, and increased the audience seating capacity by 30.
The renovation should address some issues, mainly poor audio, that have occurred with the television broadcasts of the council's meetings, said Dean Marquardt, Brookfield director of administration.
In the new layout, the mayor, city clerk, city attorney and aldermen sit in a horseshoe shape along the chamber's western wall. Previously, aldermen sat in rows facing the mayor. In most cases they had to turn around to look at the other aldermen, thus pulling them away from their microphones and making it tough for their comments to be audible on the broadcasts.
The renovations cost a little less than $30,000, Marquardt said, and that money came from the city's cable television account, which is funded by franchise fees cable companies pay to the city. The account has abut $55,000 remaining.
That money can only be spent on improving the broadcasting of city meetings.
Marquardt said the next step would be to bring in audiovisual consultants to look at additional concepts, including the installation of display monitors for audience members and aldermen. Consultants also could look at upgrading audio equipment or relocating cameras, Marquardt said.
- Alan Hamari
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