New cable fee will fund remodeling of council chambers

By Bob Okon bokon@stemedianetwork.com March 19, 2012 10:12PM

Updated: March 19, 2012 10:12PM

JOLIET The city will use a 35-cent a month cable fee that will be added later this year to remodel the council chambers and redesign it to be more video friendly.

City Manager Thomas Thanas presented the plan Monday to the Joliet City Council, which approved it unanimously.

The council chambers would be more versatile and better equipped to present information to people who watch city proceedings from home on TV once it is remodeled, Thanas said.

When it (the room) was designed it was long before PowerPoint was thought of and long before interactive was considered, he said. The chambers would be better equipped to deliver visual presentations to viewers in their homes, he said.

The plan also would put portable seating into the council chambers, which then could be rearranged for different proceedings such as bankruptcy court. Thanas said other users also could help pay for the remodeling.

I think its a great idea to work with multiple users, said Councilman Don Fisher. This large space in city hall remains dormant 90 percent of the time.

The fee was put into the 10-year franchise agreement negotiated with Comcast in 2011. The 35-cent per customer fee is expected to generate about $100,000 a year over 10 years.

The money is to be used for technology upgrades in the council chambers and at the studio of Joliet Community Television.

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New cable fee will fund remodeling of council chambers