Boone Town Council Meeting Recordings Now Online

The Town of Boone has offered video recordings of its council meetings for over a decade, with a 2013 article from Carolina Public Press confirming the practice was already in place at that time. This long-standing commitment to transparency has evolved with technology, now providing multiple avenues for public access. Currently, the town live-streams its meetings and makes recordings available on its website. For a period between October 21, 2021, and August 2022, technical difficulties with the streaming service led to meetings being recorded and hosted on the Town's Facebook page to ensure continuous availability. In a move to adapt to changing public needs, particularly highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boone Town Council transitioned to a hybrid meeting format. Since April 13, 2022, meetings have been held in-person at the Council Chambers at 1500 Blowing Rock Road, while also allowing for remote attendance and public comment via WebEx. To further streamline public access to information, the Town is in the process of transitioning to new software for its agendas and minutes, which will be available through the Town of Boone Meeting Portal. This portal is intended to be a central location for various public documents, including public hearing packets. The Town Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Key contacts for accessing meeting recordings are Town Clerk Nicole Harmon and Communications specialist Laney Wise. Neighboring municipalities in the High Country also provide online access to their meetings. The Watauga County Board of Commissioners holds its regular meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. A 2013 report noted that Blowing Rock also archived its meeting minutes online. The move toward greater online accessibility reflects a broader trend in local government to increase transparency and public engagement. This has been supported by organizations like the UNC School of Government, which provides guidance on North Carolina's open meetings laws. While the town's website provides access to a video archive of past meetings, there is no publicly available information detailing the specific costs associated with the streaming and recording technology or future plans for expanding these services.