Live streaming of the Mountlake Terrace City Council meetings over the internet will be resuming today, September 3rd. The city had to discontinue live streaming about a year ago when the ceiling in the city council chambers collapsed and meetings were relocated to the library. The new system is up and running and the interim city hall now and you are able to listen online. This is good news as most people aren’t able to make it to the actual meetings but now have a way to listen to them from home.

Press release from the City:

Live internet streaming of City Council and Planning Commission meetings resumes on September 3, as the final training and software upgrades are completed in the Interim City Hall Council Chambers. To hear the audio recording, click here.

The city has not been able to transmit meetings live since the ceiling collapse at the old City Hall in July of 2008. Since the meetings were held in varying locations, which were not hard-wired for transmissions, the City Clerk and IT Division coordinated each week with San Francisco-based Granicus, Inc. to encode the digital record to play over the internet on-demand. Now the public has the option to listen live or on-demand after the meeting uploads.

The City of Mountlake Terrace first began webcasting its City Council and Planning Commission meetings in May of 2007 to keep citizens engaged and informed through technology enhancements. “We are pleased to once again offer this convenience to connect our community with its local government in concert with the Council’s goal to develop more effective strategies for communication and outreach,” stated City Clerk and Community Relations Director Virginia Olsen.

With Granicus, community members may access the meeting information they want, when they want it. Through a comprehensive audio archive library located on the city’s website the public can find webcasts, minutes, agendas, and back up information all cross-linked and searchable by keyword. “Jump to” points direct listeners to audio clips of specific agenda items so topics of interest can be easily followed in a minimal amount of time. For more information about audio streaming or Council meetings, please contact City Clerk/Community Relations Director Virginia Olsen at (425) 744-6206.