Pacific residents now have an option when they cannot attend a City Council meeting.
They can view them online.
Under the departments tab on Pacific’s website at pacificwa.gov is a link for the city clerk. Clicking on that tab provides several options, including one for council meeting records. When people click on that link they will be able to access all of the meetings since Oct. 3.
City officials have been working toward this since March, when the City purchased a $60,000 audio-visual system to record council meetings. The purchase included a new 80-inch television screen, which allows the City’s legal arm, when it uses the council chamber as a courtroom, to conference with prisoners at the SCORE jail in Des Moines. Formerly, prisoners had to be transferred back to the council chamber.
Guier said she had hoped to have the system in place earlier, but the City Hall’s infrastructure “makes it really challenging. It’s really out of date.” The 6,433-square-foot City Hall was built in 1928.
Because of those issues, Guier said, the council meeting are not being streamed live yet, but that remains a goal. City officials also are working toward modernizing Pacific’s website.
But Guier is undeterred.
“I’m really excited about the progress that we’re making,” she said. “I really like that we’re getting the community more engaged.”
The meetings typically have been posted online the next day. Guier said she likes that viewers can navigate to the portion of the meeting they want to see. For example, a viewer can click on the mayor’s report and the video will fast-forward to that point.
“It’s like you’re right there at the council meeting,” Guier said. “You can understand exactly what the council is thinking when they’re making their decisions.”
Guier said that people who cannot attend the meeting can email City Clerk Amy Stevenson-Ness at astevenson-ness@ci.pacific.wa.us and have her read their comments at the meeting.
“We need to hear from our community and make sure how they feel and address what their concerns are,” Guier said.
