City of Longwood Enhances Virtual Council Meetings with Legrand | AV

Challenge

The City of Longwood, Florida needed to bring modern digital technology to their city council chambers without sacrificing functionality. The City Council hosts bi-monthly meetings and invites community members to participate and interact. The city was interested in live streaming these meetings so citizens could participate from the comfort of their own homes. The live streaming solution had to be state of the art, simple to use, and unobtrusive during chamber meetings.

“Our biggest challenge was having technology that would work with Facebook Live and was high-quality,” said Craig Dunn, IT Director for the City of Longwood.

This is why the city partnered with Teer Audio Visual to provide a robust live streaming solution using Legrand | AV products.

Da-Lite Advantage Series screens provide clear viewing for the audience and council alike at the City of Longwood Council Chambers.

Solution

With Legrand | AV products, Teer AV knew they could craft a high-quality solution within the space the chamber provided. The company has a long history of utilizing Legrand | AV products and is particularly fond of their durability and ease of installation. Chief, Da-Lite, Middle Atlantic and Vaddio products were all used to successfully complete the project.

“The City of Longwood wanted equipment that would work in the existing commission chambers design, they did not want equipment that was visually obtrusive. The Legrand | AV products we used were sleek and aesthetically pleasing which met the clients design requirements,” said Jason Harlow, Teer AV Account Executive.

Two Da-Lite Advantage Electrol projection screens on either side of the chamber provide plenty of space for presenters, while a Vaddio ConferenceSHOT AV camera works great for streaming the meeting on Facebook Live in high definition. The C5 Series Credenza from Middle Atlantic allows city staff easy access to equipment and controls and the Chief VCMU projector mount was simple to install, sleek, and unobtrusive.

“Teer Audio Visual is very familiar with Legrand | AV and its product lines. We have been using Legrand | AV for years,” said Harlow. “Clients have always been more than pleased with the final installation.”

Middle Atlantic racks provide unobstrusive control over the Longwood City Chambers AV setup.

Results

Longwood’s commission chambers now include a top of the line and unobtrusive streaming solution that allows anyone to view meetings from the comfort of their own home.

“The products in our commission chambers have been easy to use,” said Craig Dunn, Information Technology Director for City of Longwood. “Our community has really embraced virtual commission meetings. Residents appreciate that they can stay connected and informed with the system Teer Audio Visual designed and installed for us. Residents have commented on the videos saying how much they enjoy the virtual access to the meetings.”

The City of Longwood was happy with the installation and couldn’t have guessed how vital it would end up being in the wake of stay at home orders and quarantine.

“This installation was complete prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The residents were happy that they had the option to attend the commission meetings in person or attend via Facebook Live. Since the stay-at-home orders, residents were even more pleased that they had access to the information and meetings in a safe way by continuing to view it from Facebook Live from the comfort of their homes. Residents have expressed their surprise with how well the video quality is and that they can view the meetings in full HD,” said Harlow.

“The City of Longwood loves that they can still hold meetings with the Vaddio Camera setup and Facebook Live. They are still able to provide their residents with important information while complying with state laws and regulations during this time,” said Harlow.

The chambers are still used two to three times a month for meetings, and the city is pleased with both the quality of the solution as well as the usability. In the end, the project gave the City of Longwood the upgraded commission chambers they needed.

Download a PDF of this case study.

Featured Products in Longwood City Chambers

Da-Lite:
Advantage Electrol Electric Projection Screens

Chief: 
VCMU Projector Mount

Middle Atlantic: 
C5 Series Credenza 

Vaddio: 
ConferenceSHOT AV Camera

USB 3 Extenders