For the past several months, the Brownsville City Commission has held city meetings at the Brownsville Public Library’s Main Branch on Central Boulevard, as the City Commission Chambers in downtown Brownsville undergoes renovations.
A new audio-visual system will be installed in the City Commission Chambers, as well new carpeting, blinds and a new platform upon which the city commissioners’ chairs are placed.
“Since we were already going to be taking down equipment and moving some items in there, it was decided that we do a little pick-me-up to the chambers, a face lift,” said J. P. Villarreal, director of Internal Service for the City of Brownsville. “It was all cosmetic work.”
While the carpeting and blinds and platform has been changed, officials are waiting for the audio and video equipment to arrive. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the delivery of such equipment, Villarreal said.
The new equipment was ordered in August and was initially expected to arrive in October. The new arrival date is now scheduled for some time in January.
“It should have technically been completed, but the problem we are having is what everyone is experiencing right now, supply chain issues. The city unfortunately is not immune to those issues going on right now,” Villarreal said.
The current audio-visual equipment in the chambers is outdated, so new equipment was ordered to make it easier for commissioners to have the information available to them rather them having to rely on televisions, Villarreal said.
“We are still going to have TVs in the commission chambers for the audience but that way they are not looking at something far away. They will have screens on their desks,” he said.
Villarreal said the new equipment will also make it easier to record the meetings and airing them.
“All this was all done for technology purposes,” he said.
The platform was lowered in order install a ramp to make it ADA accessible, should that be needed in the future.
After the audio-visual equipment arrives, it should take about two to three weeks to completely install all the equipment and get the training needed to use the equipment.
“As far as this is concerned, the last that we have been told is that it is set to arrive in January, so that is what we are kind of hoping for and crossing our fingers that it comes in,” Villarreal said. “Unfortunately, it just doesn’t seems like anybody is immune to these supply chain issues, and unfortunately the city is no different than anybody else waiting for items to come in.”
