By Steve Plunkett
Briny Breezes will spend up to $18,000 improving the sound system — and especially the call-in conference phone — in Town Hall.
People attending Town Council meetings by telephone have complained for years that they cannot clearly hear what town aldermen are saying, though the aldermen can hear their remarks quite well.
Council President Liz Loper, then an alderwoman, first urged updating the sound system and the conference call-in system in July 2023.
“We know that you all [on the phone] can’t hear us,” Loper told then-Alderwoman Sue Thaler, who had phoned in that day to participate.
Thaler resigned from the council in December 2023 but still attends meetings in person or by phone.
“The sound system, the crackling on the phone must be on the town’s side of the line because it’s happening for everybody who calls in. … You need to hear people’s comments,” she said at the Dec. 12 council meeting.
The council chose as its vendor Chris DeMots of Boynton Beach-based Ribbit IT, the same company that provides audiovisual services to the town’s corporate entity, Briny Breezes Inc.
“I just want to say that you can totally trust what Chris is recommending. … Chris is a very fine person to work with,” the corporation’s general manager, Michael Gallacher, assured the Town Council.
The big-ticket items are $3,446 for a 12-channel audio processor with phone support and $3,410 for 10 gooseneck microphones with stands and cables. Installation, wiring, testing and training will cost $5,500.
The total bid was $16,334, but Town Manager Bill Thrasher asked that the amount be “not to exceed” $18,000 to cover any contingencies. Thrasher is required to get council approval on any expenditures over $5,000.
Also submitting proposals for the job were Pompano Beach-based Innuvo and West Palm Beach-based ForceAV.
Comments