The new live streaming service the Town of Huntsville is looking to use to broadcast events from local arenas could cost the town an additional $4,400.
That’s according to Manager of Facility Operations Greg Pilling, who said town staff would be in charge of operating the platform with an estimated management time of approximately 30 minutes per day and one hour on Fridays, totalling about three hours per week.
“(That’s) approximately 154 hours per year for the Customer Service/Sales team, which will increase the levy by approximately $4400 per year commencing in 2027,” states the report presented at a committee meeting on Nov. 26.
The report states that Town staff will control the cameras, adding the task of turning them on and off to the duties of Canada Summit Centre Customer Service Representatives, whose current duties include posting daily event schedules on LCD screens and managing dressing room assignments.
Councillor Monty Clouthier said the live streaming service the arena has now (Sports Engine) does not need town staff to be operating the platform, as the company manages the platform and cameras.
“The only question I have about it is why the taxpayer is paying for something that is a service that another company sits back in their office and gains revenue off of, and we are providing the labour work to turn it on and off each time?” asked Clouthier.
Deputy Mayor Dan Armour agreed with Clouthier and said it would be better if the town could offset the price of managing the cameras through organizations, such as hockey associations, that would utilize the service.
This discussion stems from a deputation made on September 24th by Mike Archambault, Director of the Huntsville Girls Hockey Association and Patrick Reynolds, who presented an initial report stating the service would come “with no cost to the town as LiveBarn covers all the set-up expenses.”
“So, the way the presentation came to us is that it wasn’t going to cost us anything. And now we’re looking at the associations paying and our taxpayers paying. So, I am not that happy about it, to be honest,” said Councillor Helena Renwick.
As a result, the motion was postponed, and council directed staff to investigate how to offset the program’s cost through partnerships with organisations, clubs, and associations.
