SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Council Looks Into Televised Meetings

City Council meetings may be televised sometime soon.

The council this week asked the city staff to explore the cost of airing the sessions on a local cable channel, following a suggestion by member Jeff Vasquez.

“Right now is a good time to look into this because we are renegotiating our cable contract with Dimension Cable,” Vasquez said. “Part of the service cable companies are supposed to provide is community access.”

Several South County cities already televise their meetings, including San Clemente, Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo. Dana Point has already set its council chambers up for television, and the first airings are scheduled for January or February.

“Everybody else is doing it. Why not us?” Vasquez said. “We have some exciting things coming up in the city, like the Open Space Master Plan and the downtown’s historical town center project. My feeling is let’s make the people a part of the process even if they prefer to watch from home.”

Vasquez estimated that the cost to televise the meetings would be “upwards of $30,000 . . . but it’s a one-time-only cost. I don’t think that’s too high a price to pay to get the community involved in $12-million worth of general fund decisions, which we do every year.”

No deadline was set, although the staff is expected to bring a report back to the council on the cable negotiations, including the possibility of local television, at a future council meeting.