Old North News

City of Whiteville issued the following announcement on April 29.

History of a sort was made Tuesday night when the Whiteville City Council conducted its first-ever meeting to be live-streamed over the internet. Many items of business, none of them controversial, were transacted and all votes were unanimous, and fact that the meeting was transmitted live – to an audience potentially located anywhere in the world – was probably the big news from the meeting.

The broadcast can be watched by clicking here. From there, either click on the tab to get the “Teams” app, or click on the tab to watch on the web instead. Then click on either “Join anonymously” or “Sign in” and you’ll be taken to the video and audio feed of the meeting.

The live stream was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a temporary prohibition of public gatherings of more than 10 people, essentially shutting down meetings of governing bodies, most of whose membership and support staff total more than that many persons.

City Manager Darren Currie said that the city immediately began investigating ways of making meetings assessible to members of the public who cannot attend because of restrictions on crowd size.  About $4,500 was invested in equipment, including $1,500 for a quality television camera. Enhancements were made to the city hall’s sound system and are included in the live-stream’s audio feed.

Department heads who could not be in council chambers because of crowd size limits participated from their offices via computer. Currie, in addition to his normal duties during meetings, acted as television producer and called up to the broadcast the images of those speaking.

No close images of council members were seen, but Currie says that is coming in the near future. He said he intends to get another employee trained to begin producing the broadcasts by the next meeting or two and, when that happens, individual council members can be zoomed in on while they are speaking instead of just appearing as dots in a wide camera angle from the rear of the room.

The software through which the broadcasts are developed provides for remote viewers to type comments, which can be used to give the public the opportunity, as is legally required, to offer public comments during meetings. That option was available Tuesday, but none of the dozen people who Currie said watched the meeting availed themselves of the opportunity.

In the future, the broadcasts also will give officials the capability to showing graphs, charts and other documents as an inset on viewers’ computer screens, Currie said.

Both Currie and Mayor Terry Mann expressed satisfaction Wednesday morning at how the live-stream worked without technical glitches and how in the future it will make governmental operations more transparent to citizens. “It was money that was well spent to get the capability,” said Mann.

In business matters, Council:

• Awarded a contract for $939,415 to Bill Worley & Sons General Contractors, the lowest of six bidders, for construction of a new ABC store and agreed a 15-year deal with First Bank to finance the project at a 2.08 percent interest rate. Competitive bids for the financing were opened earlier Tuesday, and First Bank’s were the most favorable. Awarding of the finance contract is subject to the approval of the N.C. Local Government Commission.
• Approved a tentative bid award for the Mollies Branch sewer project, which was funded in 2018 but has not yet gotten to construction. The contract went to low bidder T&H Construction of Hampstead. The $975,359.54 bid came in $174,000 over budget and the staff the engineer to reduce costs. They’ve already identified about $100,000 in possible reductions but some additional local funding might be required.
• Approved approved a memorandum of understanding for Building Whiteville Tomorrow ((BWT), a 501-C-3 nonprofit group created to assist improving recreational opportunities, which would like to spend $24,000 to build a 110-yard long, 70-yard wide multi-purpose field at the site of the current youth league football field. The revamped field would provide a regulation-size facility for football, soccer and other sports.
• Agreed to a staff request to appropriate $9,107 to the Building Improvement Grant (B.I.G.) program for revitalization and redevelopment in downtown Whiteville. To date, the program has funded six projects that total a $15,711.71 investment downtown with 50 percent public and private matches of $$7,805.86 each. Staff has received five more applications that would total a $50,866.25 investment downtown with a $10,000 public commitment and a $30,866.25 private commitment. Economic Developer Sean Martin said the B.I.G. program already has helped create 11 new jobs downtown.
• Authorized Fire Chief David Yergeau to apply for a FEMA Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) three-year grant which will require the city to contribute a cost share toward the actual cost of hiring additional firefighters, a local cost share of 25 percent the first two years and 65 percent the third grant. The total cost of the grant, including the federal share, is estimated at $829,744, while the city’s cost is estimated to be $69,148 the first two years for six firefighters and the third year local cost share estimated at $179,874. After the three-year grant period is completed, the city would be responsible for all salaries and benefits. Other cost incurred by the city would be outfitting the firefighters with uniforms, gear and training ($19,500 during the first year and $1,800 for the second and third years).
• Approved a request from Police Chief Doug Ipock to apply for a U.S. Justice Department Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Grant, a grant that would require no local financial commitments.
• Passed a resolution to ratify action by the city manager to meet U.S. Dept. of Labor notification requirements related to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which requires certain employers to give their employees paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specific reasons related to COVID-19.
• Adopted an amendment to the city personnel policy recommended by the N.C. League of Municipalities that adds a telecommuting policy and procedure, something the NCLM strongly recommended now that many municipalities are allowing employees to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
• Passed a resolution allowing the city manager to sign necessary documents to apply for funds to elevate/relocate lift stations 1 and 8. Lift station 1 is located at the old treatment plant site and was converted into a lift station when the new plant was built. Lift station 8 is off Nolan Avenue near the park. The funding will allow the city to mitigate flooding at both stations The application requests a 50 percent grant and a 50 percent low interest loan.

Original source can be found here.