ThisWeek CW 05/23/2013
Madison Township trustees voted May 15 to spend $6,501 to upgrade the community center’s failed audio recording and amplification system.
The current sound system, installed in the community center in 1996, has been in a state of disrepair since the beginning of the year, according to Township Administrator Susan Brobst. All-State Fire & Security owner Frank Daniels said the parts to fix that system are no longer available.
“The original sound system from 1996 has been worked on several times over the last seven years,” Brobst said. “The manufacturer wasn’t able to get parts to repair the recorder and the amplifiers are old enough they need replaced. We’ve been working on this since the beginning of the year.”
All-State Fire & Security, a Chillicothe-based company with offices in Groveport, installed and maintains the audio systems for the city of Groveport and Groveport schools. Both recommended the company for use by the township.
Daniels is also a retired Madison Township and Groveport police officer.
“Susan and I have been over this project several times now and I’ve put together a nice recording system device that is inexpensive and portable, so the device can be moved back and forth from executive session or other meetings if you need it to,” Daniels said. “We’ve also proposed putting two additional speakers behind the trustees to amplify the meetings better.”
A few residents at the May 15 trustees’ meeting said they would be grateful for that, given that they can’t always hear the proceedings and sometimes have to ask trustees and staff members to repeat themselves.
Trustee Gary McDonald asked if the system would be upgradable in the future.
“Yes, this isn’t the top-of-the-line solution because we needed to fit your budget, but it is mid-range and can grow with you,” Daniels said. “The recorder I proposed will be able to record to a CD and it will go onto the 20GB hard drive that’s built in, then you can copy the CD or connect a computer to it with USB and copy that way.
“Right now, it allows for six microphones but that can be expanded in the future.”
According to Daniels, the CD recording will be time-stamped, which he said provides an extra level of tamper-resistance and documentation when responding to public records requests.
Fire Chief Robert Bates said he was looking forward to using the new system’s ability to amplify multimedia presentations when conducting training sessions.
The new system will be ordered and installed by the end of June, according to Brobst.
The trustees and staff all agreed they are excited about the new system and looking forward to having it installed.