I have attended quite a few public meetings during my time with Moonshine Ink. Many I’ve gone to in person, but even more — especially during the Covid-19 years — I’ve viewed via streaming methods.
Similar to the broadcasts on local TV channels, the livestreaming of various board, council, and commission meetings across the Truckee/North Tahoe region allows those who might not have the time, money, or energy to attend in person to still participate in local decision-making.
Tahoe Truckee Media (TTM) is a local educational and government media center that provides broadcasting and streaming options. For broadcasts, there are both standard and high-definition cable options: educational programming is on channels 6/106, while government and public affairs show on channels 8/118.
TTM provides livestream and broadcast options for Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, Town of Truckee, Truckee Tahoe Airport District, and Tahoe Forest Health System. Other districts and agencies in our coverage area utilize different methods for putting their meetings out there, while others only allow in-person, day-of opportunities (see the list to the right for who offers what and when — including who does and doesn’t provide a livestream).
I was curious to hear TTM General Manager Rory O’Farrell’s take on airing public meetings in this day and age, and in this region.
~ AH
What are the benefits of districts choosing to stream or broadcast their meetings through TTM rather than directly through Zoom, YouTube, etc.?
Rory O’Farrell, Tahoe Truckee Media general manager: All our public meetings appear on our website ttusd.org/community/tahoetruckeemedia.
We also post all our public meetings to YouTube. However, YouTube occasionally “strikes” our account, usually due to copyright issues involving use of music. Some other public media centers have had their channels removed from YouTube and Vimeo with no warning or reason given. So, for instance, you can see the fall concert of the Truckee High School band at our native website, but YouTube has rejected it.
Another benefit is the lack of commercial clutter on our native website. It’s not in the best interest of TTUSD, or TFHS, to have ads appearing next to their board meetings, when the ads may deliver a message in poor taste or otherwise antithetical to good governance.
Then, also, we have been captioning all meetings in English and Spanish, with local control over editing of the captions. This helps these elected bodies comply with Brown Act [Americans with Disabilities] and [Web Content Accessibility Guidelines] 2.2 mandates.
Why don’t all special districts livestream their board meetings through Tahoe Truckee Media?
TTM was an early adopter of livestreaming; it was introduced here by our founder John Echols prior to my arrival in 2009. There is no requirement to livestream meetings of the elected boards of special districts, but several in the area have chosen to, in the interests of transparency and public participation.
What reasons do you hear from those who don’t livestream their meetings?
Expense certainly is one. To cover a meeting adequately requires a microphone and camera setup, and a method of getting visual presentation slides into the telecast stream. Now new ADA requirements mandate features like captioning and audio-descriptors need to be included. An operator to control the telecasts is also necessary, and this turns into a high-stress position, once the inevitable technical difficulties occur.
The hard costs of the installed equipment fall on the client agencies.
Our contract with the Town of Truckee starts with a fixed service fee every month ($1,050), which covers indexing the meetings (matching video to the agenda items) and archiving and captioning.
In addition, the town pays $200 per meeting hour, plus setup and post-production as necessary. An average month has two council meetings plus a planning commission meeting. So, the expense to the town each month runs $3,000 to $4,000.
The airport board and hospital board only meet once a month, so their expense is about half of what it costs the town.
For a one-time livestream with an operator and one camera, one mic, charges start at $200 per hour.
There are discounts available for nonprofits. For instance, we recently livestreamed a fundraiser for Sierra Avalanche Center.
Have you seen any interesting trends develop as virtual meetings took a steep jump during the Covid-19 pandemic?
The pandemic presented some immediate hurdles, mostly in incorporating programs like Zoom and Google Meets into live meetings. Now that those services have shown their value, and interactive public comment capability is being required, by law, for certain public meetings, the public has also come to expect livestream access to public meetings, and the convenience of being able to view meetings on demand, with agenda topics indexed to accurate points within lengthy meetings.
Do you see a lot of traffic through the broadcast channels versus the livestream option?
We have never been able to obtain viewership stats on the cable TV channels. This is a small market with no ratings services available, and the cable companies have never been willing to share any data with operators of public media channels, not even subscriber volume.
Internet viewing on the other hand is full of analytic audience data, and yes, we know the local audience has been viewing our streams more and more. Audiences are driven to watch local meetings online when controversial topics are considered, or when the weather prohibits attendance in person. Our coverage of TTUSD sports, especially when teams travel as far as Winnemucca or Elko, provides a real service for local families who want to see the contests. Often our Wolverine Football coverage draws more viewers than the larger Reno schools, when weather or distance makes it hard for local fans to see the away games.
How, Where, and When to Attend North Tahoe/Truckee Special District Meetings
Alpine Springs County Water District: Second Friday of the month, 9 a.m.
In person: 270 Alpine Meadows Rd., Olympic Valley
Livestream: Yes, Zoom (no public participation or comment is provided through Zoom)
Donner Summit Public Utility District: Third Tuesdays, 6 p.m.
In person: 53823 Sherritt Ln., Soda Springs
Livestream: Yes, Zoom
Incline Village General Improvement District: Second and fourth Tuesdays, 4 p.m.
In person: 893 Southwood Blvd., Incline Village
Livestream: Yes, Vimeo
North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District: Third Wednesdays, 12 p.m.
In person: 863 Tanager St., Incline Village
Livestream: Can be accommodated with notice ahead of time. Meetings are recorded and recordings are available for the public with a public records request.
North Tahoe Fire Protection District: Fourth Tuesdays, 3 p.m.
In person: 222 Fairway Drive, Tahoe City
Livestream: None
North Tahoe Public Utility District: Second Tuesdays, 2 p.m.
In person: North Tahoe Event Center, 8318 North Lake Blvd., Kings Beach
Livestream: None
Northstar Community Services District: Third Wednesdays, 9 a.m.
In person: 900 Northstar Dr., Truckee
Livestream: Yes, Zoom
Olympic Valley Public Service District: Last Tuesday, 8:30 a.m.
In person: 305 Olympic Valley Rd.
Livestream: None, with no plans to implement at this time
Sierra Joint Community College District: Second Tuesdays, 4 p.m.
In person: Primarily the Rocklin Campus, 5100 Sierra College Blvd., Rocklin
Livestream: Yes, Zoom
Tahoe City Public Utility District: Third Fridays, 8:30 a.m.
In person: 221 Fairway Dr., Tahoe City
Livestream: Yes, Zoom
Tahoe Forest Hospital District: Fourth Tuesdays, 4 p.m.
In person: 10121 Pine Ave., Truckee
Livestream: Yes, Zoom, Tahoe Truckee Media
Tahoe-Truckee Sanitation Agency: Third Wednesdays, 9 a.m.
In person: 13720 Butterfield Dr., Truckee
Livestream: None. Videos are posted to the website within 24 to 48 hours.
Tahoe Truckee Unified School District: First and Third Wednesdays, 4:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. for open session)
In person: 11603 Donner Pass Rd., Truckee
Livestream/broadcast: Yes, Tahoe Truckee Media; Suddenlink channel 6, Optimum Cable Channel 106
Town of Truckee Town Council: Second and fourth Tuesdays, 5 p.m.
In person: 10183 Truckee Airport Rd., Truckee
Livestream/broadcast: Yes, Tahoe Truckee Media; channel 118
Truckee Donner Public Utility District: First and third Wednesdays, 6 p.m.
In person: 11570 Donner Pass Road, Truckee
Livestream: Yes, YouTube
Truckee-Donner Recreation and Park District: Fourth Tuesdays, 6 p.m.
In person: 10981 Truckee Way, Truckee
Livestream: None. Interested, but not financially feasible at this time.
Truckee Fire Protection District: Third Thursdays, 5:30 p.m.
In person: 12304 Joerger Dr., Truckee
Livestream: None
Truckee Sanitary District: Third Thursdays, 6 p.m.
In person: 12304 Joerger Dr., Truckee
Livestream: None, though audio is available after each meeting on the website.
Truckee Tahoe Airport District: Fourth Wednesdays, 4:30 p.m.
In person: 10356 Truckee Airport Rd., Truckee
Livestream: Yes, Tahoe Truckee Media
