Dewey Considers Online Future

By Alex Ruoff | Coast Press

DEWEY BEACH — After getting positive feedback from Webcasts that enable part-time residents to tune into town meetings, Dewey officials are now considering making an investment in their online future.

According to property owner Ken Lodge, current town equipment has produced grainy footage and unclear sound. Upgrades, some of which would allow for back-and-forth communication between those at the meetings and online attendees, could cost $3,000 to $5,000, he said.

“I’ve heard some good feedback,” he said. “The only complaints are about what you can see and hear. That’s something that can be done with a new camera … I’m in favor of really going into it.”

The first broadcast took place Jan. 9, with about a dozen people watching from as far away as Tokyo, Japan, officials said. Since then, interest has grown and some believe improvements are in order.

“It’s something that we are definitely interested in working on,” said Diana Smith, who assumed her new role as town manager earlier this month . “We’ll look at the expense in developing it and seeing where we can take it.”

The original Webcast cost the town about $50 and relied heavily on borrowed equipment. Dick Cleaveland, a member of the Dewey Beach Information Technology Committee and the man responsible for starting it, said there’s a lot of room for improvement.

“I set it up as a trial using my own equipment just to see what people would think of it,” he said. “I think it all depends on how much money the town will put into it.”

Cleaveland said a newer computer and better cameras would be needed to improve the images and provide for larger bandwidth to accommodate the growing number of people who tune in each month.

Smith said town officials are slated to designate a portion of town funds for such technology at the upcoming meeting, slated for Feb. 27.

“We haven’t really looked at exact costs, but it is my understanding that it is fairly inexpensive to do,” she said. “I think funding shouldn’t be a problem.”