7/6/05

Town Launches Streaming Video on Website
Town Council Meetings Now Can Be Viewed Online

Are you interested in what happened at a recent Town Council meeting but were unable to attend? View video of the meeting that you want to see on the Town's website at www.hollyspringsnc.us/media. This week, the Town officially launched streaming video on its website, and videos of recent Town Council meetings will be available online for roughly a month following each meeting.

"Holly Springs is a town that puts a very high priority on open communication to our citizens," said Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears. "This process is just another example of our implementation of that subject."

Links to a video of each item on the Town Council meeting agenda are available, so viewers can skip to the precise portion of the meeting they want to see. The streaming video on the Town website can be played online using RealPlayer. A link to download the free RealPlayer software is available from the Town website. Town Council meetings, which are open to the public and held the first and third Tuesday of each month, will be available as streaming media online by early afternoon the day following the meeting, barring any unexpected technical difficulties.

"We're very excited to offer yet another way for residents to access our Town government," said Tamara Ward, the Town's public information officer. "Written minutes from past meetings have been available online for quite a while now, and of course residents have always been welcome to attend any Town Council meeting. But, I think streaming video on the website will prove to be a popular way for residents to follow what's going on in their Town."

Later this fiscal year, the Town is planning on publishing other streaming videos about general Town subjects, such as parks and recreation. The Town also has plans to upgrade the audio on the streaming media this fiscal year for increased clarity.

"Depending on the amount of usage of the streaming media, the Town Council may decide to upgrade the equipment or expand our server space to allow for even more footage to be published," said Ward.

For residents who do not have Internet access or who have dial-up Internet access, opportunities to view the streaming media exist. Residents can come to Town Hall and watch the footage on a Town Hall computer. Or, residents can bring a writable DVD or CD to Town Hall; Town staff will burn a copy of the meeting on the resident's media for free. (Because Town Council meeting agenda items can take as much as 1 GB per item, residents who want a copy of the entire meeting should bring a DVD.) Residents can then watch the Town Council meeting on their personal computers. Or, DVDs of the Town Council meetings can be purchased from Town Hall for the price of the media on which it is recorded.

Town of Holly Springs - PO Box 8 - 128 South Main Street - Holly Springs, NC 27540 - (919) 552-6221 - Holly.Springs@hollyspringsnc.us