By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Local government board meetings are now available online for townspeople to watch for the first time.
Town Administrator Jim Boudreau and Lynnfield Media Studios Director Eric Hamlin have posted Board of Selectmen, School Committee, Town Meetings and Lynnfield Historical Society meetings on the video-sharing website Vimeo.
Vimeo, which is similar to the video-sharing website YouTube, was founded in November 2004 by Jake Lodwick and Zach Klein. In order to watch municipal government meetings, residents should visit https://vimeo.com/user36270762/videos.
While interviewing for the town administrator job, Boudreau said the selectmen expressed an interest in making the meetings more available to townspeople.
“When I was hired, a common theme from the board was to make the meetings more accessible to the public,” said Boudreau. “We tape all of these meetings so people can watch them live but if they didn’t and they want to watch a meeting after it aired, we would have to make a DVD for people. This is a way to make these meetings accessible so people can stay informed. It’s the right thing to do.”
According to Hamlin, municipal meetings were first posted online in January. Sixteen videos have been posted on Vimeo, which includes meetings from this past fall.
“We thought this would be a good way for people who have an interest in politics and town events to stay informed,” said Hamlin.
Boudreau said Norwell used Vimeo to post videos online when he worked as that community’s town administrator. He said the town pays a $199 fee for an entire year to use Vimeo’s services.
“It’s a very good bargain,” said Boudreau. “It’s cheap and easy to use.”
Hamlin agreed.
“We thought Vimeo would be the most cost effective way to post meetings online,” said Hamlin.
While communities such as North Reading and Wakefield decided to post their municipal meetings on YouTube, Hamlin said local officials decided to use Vimeo instead because townspeople would not get inundated with advertising, which often takes place with YouTube. Hamlin noted Saugus also uses Vimeo’s services.
“It’s easier than uploading videos to YouTube,” Hamlin added.
Since the town launched its Vimeo website, Boudreau said the video-sharing website has freed up Hamlin’s time to focus on other responsibilities.
Hamlin said it’s his goal is to post meetings online a couple of days after they air on television. He also wants to create an archive of meetings for people to watch at their own convenience.
“It’s going to take a while but we are looking to branch out as we go forward,” said Hamlin. “I want to create an archive of as many videos as possible.”
Hamlin noted the town’s Vimeo channel has grown in popularity since it was launched last month.
“I think it’s becoming more popular,” said Hamlin. “People are starting to watch the videos, which is nice to see.”
