Hot Springs opens door to all internet users with live video streaming of board meetings

Beginning Tuesday evening, the City of Hot Springs will reach a historic technical milestone as the live cable TV broadcast of the regular board of directors meeting will simultaneously be video streamed to the city’s Web site at www.cityhs.net .

“This achievement opens the door to those who, for whatever reason, don’t have access to HSTV-15, our government access channel on Resort TV Cable,” said Public Information Director Terry Payne. “From now on, you’ll also be able to watch the live Board meeting from most Internet-capable devices, including your home computer, tablet or Smartphone. If you’re out of town or even out of the country, you can tune in to the discussion of an agenda item that concerns you. It’s a way to stay in touch with local government decision-making, as it happens in real time.”

Last fall, District 5 City Director Karen Garcia visited with Hot Springs High School EAST Program Facilitator Mike Vincent and asked him to look into Web video streaming for the city, since the project was not within the city’s budget. Vincent and his students researched and found a free Web site with video streaming capability. Public Information Assistant Jeff Fields collaborated with Vincent, IS PC Technician Patrick Dobbs and Board Chambers A/V consultant Lee Hadlock, to buy a minor piece of equipment, erect the infrastructure and solve technical issues.

After extensive testing, the system will be ready for public use during next Tuesday’s 7 p.m. board meeting by selecting the “City Board Meetings live online” hotlink from the city’s home page at www.cityhs.net . A list of supported mobile devices is provided on the video streaming page. Smartphone users are advised to download a free app in order to access the video.

“This is ad-supported free Web video streaming, so the user may occasionally choose to skip an ad immediately before or after the meeting broadcast,” said Payne. “However, there are no advertisements shown during the Board meetings. Thanks to Director Garcia and HSHS EAST, we’re excited to offer this new technology to our increasingly-mobile viewer base.” Those with comments or suggestions are welcome to call 321-6806.