ESCANABA — The ability for members of the public to experience how Delta County operates from the comfort of their own homes could soon expand. The county is exploring adding a streaming option for all board and committee meetings.

A discussion of expanding streaming was placed on Tuesday’s agenda for the regular Delta County Board of Commissioners meeting at the request of Commissioner Kelli van Ginhoven.

One of van Ginhoven’s goals since taking office has been to get county board packets out to the public in a more timely manner, as many packets have over a hundred pages and it is difficult for the public review the documents and give meaningful input during public comment. When she asked the county’s administation about speeding up the process, she was advised that sometimes late packets were unavoidable, but if people wanted to be more proactive, they could attend committee meetings.

“Our committee meetings — that it was suggested that people go to to be able to receive as much information as possible — are held during working hours, and so it’s really hard for people to get there, including media,” said van Ginhoven.

Van Ginhoven also pointed to a recent special meeting held by the board to address a Freedom of Information Act appeal from Former Delta County Airport Administrator Andrea Nummilien that was not livestreamed. Prior to the meeting, a member of the public asked for the meeting to be streamed on the county’s YouTube channel in an email sent to all of the commissioners, but that request was denied by administration.

Part of the reason some meetings have not been livestreamed is that the live-streaming equipment is hardwired into the board room at the county service center. That makes it impossible to stream meetings that are subject to a change of venue or, like nearly all committee meetings, held in other locations.

Van Ginhoven suggested the county look into purchasing an Owl, a special AI-driven conferencing camera that can be set up on location. Such a device was recently used in a hiring committee meeting related to the county’s search for a new airport manager, but that device was borrowed by the county.

Based off similar equipment used by Ford River Township, Commissioner Christine Williams said an Owl and two additional speakers would likely cost the county about $2,400. However, concerns were raised by County Administrator Ashleigh Young about how the Owl would integrate with YouTube as opposed a virtual meeting application.

The board unanimously voted to send the question to the county’s IT committee for further review. After a recommendation is received, the purchase would still need to be reviewed by the county’s finance committee before a purchase could be made and universal streaming implemented.