Area residents will soon be able to watch the International Falls City Council in action through a live video stream on the city’s website.
This week’s meeting served as a test, and Councilor Cynthia Jaksa said the city is “not ready for prime time, yet.”
Jaksa said the city will announce when the meetings may be viewed on the city’s website.
Jaksa serves as the head of the city’s Cable Commission, which eventually plans to offer the council meetings and other local programming on the community’s public access channel.
“This will be on our website and streaming sometime soon,” she said. “And our long-term plan still involves working on the public access channel.”
Using the website to offer council meetings isn’t ideal, she said, because some people in the community do not have Internet capability. However, she said, it will provide a source for viewing the meetings, while the city works to bring the meetings to the public access channel.
Offering the council meetings to an audience larger than those who attend in person is part of the city’s strategic plan to “bring people together, create cohesiveness and create transparency by adding another way to get information,” said Jaksa.
While many rely on the local newspaper and radio station for their news about the city, Jaksa said providing information through multiple sources will make for a more informed citizenry which allows the city to be more proactive in its strategies and initiatives.
Meanwhile, Jaksa said the commission is working to establish a nonprofit board that can apply for grants to bring local programming to the public access channel.
She urged anyone interested in serving on the board to contact her. Jaksa, who serves as the city’s West Ward councilor, can be reached at cynthiaj@ci.international-falls.mn.us or at 218-373-3000 and 218-324-1545.
