Cornwall Borough Council continues discussion on broadcasting meetings

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Though no decisions were made, Cornwall Borough Council continued discussions on the use of Zoom or another platform to broadcast meetings during its monthly meeting Monday.

Councilman Bruce Conrad presented council with a proposal from a local business to livestream meetings (with two manned cameras, graphics of council members and speakers, presentation slides if applicable, a recording of meeting, capacity for participation of Zoom participants, and two livestreams to a platform of choice) for $600 per stream. Conrad suggested council try out the service for six months before making a decision based on participation in streams.

Several residents and council members voiced concern with the cost of streaming.

“I would like to see Zoom capabilities, but not at this cost,” said councilman John Karinch.

Mayor Mark Thomas had multiple concerns regarding the proposal, including high cost, potential for Zoom participation to further lengthen and complicate meetings, and worries about cost and service escalation (such as streams of P&Z meetings doubling costs) in the future.

“If it was that important, it could be done very easy by the people on the council,” said Thomas. “If it meant that much to them — your tax money doesn’t mean that much to them evidently, because they’re not willing to do it themselves — but it’s so important that they need it done. If I wanted these meetings livestreamed, I promise you next month there’d be a tripod sitting there for about 20 bucks off Amazon and a camera, and I would have this meeting livestreamed. You can livestream it for free on Facebook, the cameras are $400 for a brand new Pixel, which is a great camera, and it’s very simple to do.”

Thomas claimed that a six-month trial period was certain to lead to a long-term deal, something Conrad took issue with.

“You can be upset about the cost and that’s perfectly legitimate, but you can’t keep putting things on the table that are not factual,” said Conrad.

Attendee and Chamber of Commerce president Karen Groh said that with the outlined proposal, council would have nothing other than recordings of meetings after ending its contract. She noted the chamber spent close to $5,000 on video and audio equipment (two cameras and one mic that hears the whole room) to livestream meetings, only needing to continue paying a $200 annual Zoom subscription.

Groh said Choice Communications, a Myerstown business, provided equipment and installations to the chamber.

“Bruce has put a tremendous amount of work into this, I appreciate what he’s done,” said council chair Bruce Harris. “I don’t know if $600 a month is a good price or not, but I also hear what Karen is saying about the system that the Chamber of Commerce has in their building, and if something like that will work for us.”

Council has discussed potential purchase and installation of A/V equipment since 2023, when they considered a $49,000 A/V upgrade. Funds were budgeted for A/V upgrades this year, but council members have disagreed regarding the amount they are willing to spend.

Read More:

• Cornwall Borough Council considers $49,000 A/V upgrade to meeting hall (2023)
• Cornwall Borough debates email addresses for council members (2024)
• Cornwall Borough approves reviews of zoning ordinances, historic overlay idea

Streaming meetings has been a controversial topic since council began discussions of A/V upgrades.

Jeff Bamberger, who was not in attendance Monday, submitted public comment asking when meetings will be streamed, saying he feels disconnected from local politics as someone unable to attend meetings due to health issues. Other residents have pushed for livestreaming as an option for families with young children or people with long commutes too burnt out after work to come to meetings.

However, other residents have fretted about privacy for members of the audience, or worries that publicly streamed meetings could open council members up to criticism from people outside of the borough.

In response, council has floated versions of livestreaming that do not show the audience and that are only made available to residents.

Conrad said Monday he brought forward the service proposal after conversations on purchasing equipment reached a stalemate earlier this year. However, he said he was open to considering other options.

Ultimately, council unanimously agreed to reach out to the chamber’s office to determine whether similar equipment would work for the borough, planning to revisit the topic next month.

Council also unanimously agreed to authorize an enforcement notice to be sent out to Cornwall Properties for flooding issues at properties neighboring the Rexmont Road subdivision.

Last week, P&Z discussed neighbor’s flooding concerns, hearing that some neighbors had considerable flooding in their yards from the development, which recently felled trees but had not yet constructed stormwater basins.

Read More: Developer given July deadline to fix flooding issues at Cornwall subdivision

Thursday and Friday of last week, alternate zoning officer Josh Weaber said, the developer constructed a temporary basin on the future place of a cul-de-sac on site. Developers will likely construct permanent basins in the fall, representative Mike Swank said.

Though the issue appears to have been resolved, council agreed to send a violation letter so documentation is in place. Cornwall Properties has also been asked to submit a plan detailing temporary stormwater runoff prevention measures.

Harris asked about excessive afternoon traffic near Cornwall elementary school, primarily caused by parents picking kids up after school. The fire company has expressed worries about ability to get through traffic to get to a call, Harris said, as traffic often comes to a standstill immediately after school.

“This is no longer acceptable,” said Harris, voicing a need to find a solution to the problem before the start of the next school year.

Council ultimately passed the issue to P&Z, directing chairman Raymond Fratini to work with the school to address the issue.

In other news, council:

• Discussed an alleged zoning violation at 104 Store Lane, partially centering on a dispute regarding whether a fixture is within the borough right-of-way. Council unanimously agreed to revisit the topic in September, as the property-owner is seeking a private survey of the street and its right-of-way. Zoning enforcement officer Jeff Steckbeck also went with the property-owner to the home to investigate whether an eight-foot fence, which neighbors allege is rotting and leaning on their fence, violates borough code.
• Unanimously agreed to authorize a proclamation for the 102nd birthday of resident Ruth Squires on July 17.
• Approved a timber harvest permit for the Groh tract, with supervisor Thomas Burton opposed. While neighbor Karen Groh has concerns about runoff to her property, timbering is a protected use in all zoning districts in Pennsylvania.
• Unanimously authorized Steckbeck to send a letter to the Sycamore Hills mobile home development requiring that replacement screen trees be planted by Oct. 15.
• Heard a resident concern on noise generated from trash collection starting at 2 a.m. Thomas suggested residents switch to Sattazahn, which he says provides excellent service and does not start until a more reasonable hour.
• Heard a presentation from Lebanon County Library, including a request of an increased contribution from $4,500 to $5,000.
• Heard a brief presentation from emergency management coordinator Brianna Laliberte.
• Tabled discussion of tablets to be purchased for council members, opting to wait until A/V upgrade discussions have resolved.
• Shared that PennDOT has granted approval to move “No Trucks” signs for Boyd Street onto two locations on SR 322.

• Held an executive session concerning the Freeman estate.
• Unanimously approved reports and minutes.

Cornwall Borough Council meets the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.