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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Clayton Muhammad, Chief Communications & Equity Officer
Ken Schroth, Director of Public Works
Mike Pegues, Chief Information Officer
Jim Birchall, Superintendent of Fleet & Facilities Maintenance
Tony Martinez, Director of Communications
DATE: April 25, 2022
SUBJECT:
A Resolution authorizing the remodeling of the City of Aurora Council Chambers, Conference Rooms 5A & 5B and the addition of a press room and communications control center using the City of Aurora Job Order Contracting Program for $1,768,086.23, plus a contingency amount of $176,803.00.
PURPOSE:
To enhance Council Chambers and improve transparency for city residents by providing better methods of producing video recordings of public meetings and audio-visual communication.
To improve the use of the 5th floor conference rooms and to establish a dedicated area for holding press conferences and other Aurora Community Television (ACTV) programming.
BACKGROUND:
The City Hall for Aurora is located at 44 E Downer Place, Aurora, Illinois 60505. The building is a five-floor structure that contains office space for numerous City of Aurora divisions as well as a council chambers on the 2nd floor. The 5th floor is divided into a partitionable conference room (5A & 5B) and currently unused office space.
To date, City Council meetings have been video recorded using a stationary camera and streamed to Facebook and other social media sites. Audio from City Council meetings and Council Committee meetings have been made available via the City website. These methods did not provide the degree of transparency expected by staff or city residents.
Upgrades to City Council Chambers will allow for better use of the room, increased safety measures within the Chambers as well as create increased transparency for city residents by providing better methods of producing video recordings of public meetings. The improvements on the 5th floor will allow for more effective us...
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