Loading...
08.b Additional Wireless Microphones for Community Room1 Staff Report Date of Meeting: February 17, 2026 To: Scandia City Council From: City Administrator Kyle Morell and City Clerk Brenda Eklund Re: Additional Microphones in Community Center The City has received requests from both the Lions Club and our weekly Sunday renter, the Barn Church, for additional microphones in the Community Room. Currently, there are two ways to use the audio system in the Community Room. The first is the corded microphone on the dais, which plugs into a wall outlet. The second is to use the wireless microphones found in the AV room. The two different ways cannot be used together. The Lions Club was given access to the AV Room. The Barn Church does not have access. The Lions tried using the current wireless microphone setup for a meeting but were unable to get it to work, so they reverted to using only the wall-mounted microphone. I reached out to EMI Audio to request a quote for new microphones that would meet the Barn Church's requirements, which are similar to the Lions Club's needs. EMI returned four wireless microphones similar to those the City already uses in its meeting setup. The purchase and installation cost is $6,799.80. This includes the charging station, four microphones, receiver, antenna, batteries, and installation. Funds for this purchase will come from the City’s Cable TV Fund, which has a balance of $46,598.86 as of the end of January. The fund's revenue comes from franchise and PEG fees paid by the local cable provider. A description of each is below. • Franchise Fees • Franchise Fees are fees charged by local units of government to cable companies as compensation for placing cable in public right-of-ways • Franchise fees are passed on by the Cable Companies and paid by the subscribers • PEG Fees • (P)ublic, (E)ducation, (G)overnment (PEG) fees are fees collected by cable companies and are intended to “be used solely to support PEG Access in a manner consistent with applicable law” (i.e., PEG Capital Purchases) 2 When the City removed itself from the Forest Lake Cable Commission Joint Powers Agreement in 2018, it pledged to “establish a Cable Television Fund to account for the PEG fees and once sufficient funds are in place, will be looking to utilize those funds for equipment to facilitate the broadcasting of meetings and events for the City and other organizations located within the City”. Funds from the Cable Fund were used to install AV equipment for broadcasting City meetings in 2020 or 2021. I am not aware of any other uses for these funds, but I have asked the City Attorney for an opinion. If approved, the microphones would be installed in a lockable cabinet in the Community Room coat closet, and the Barn Church and Lions Club would be given a key. The iPad in the room would be set up with a new feature that enables only the wireless microphones. Options: 1) Approve purchase of new wireless microphones 2) Deny purchase of new wireless microphones 3) Table for future discussion Recommendation: Option 1 Attachments: EMI Wireless Microphone Quote                                                              