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| Jim Harbison |
I attended another work session in the new City Hall Council Chambers this week. This $34 million building was supposed to be the solution to many problems that faced the City. It was touted as being a much better facility for the community. The Chambers were designed to provide greater public access to the Council and allow the public more opportunity to express their concerns. The City Council and Staff now sit in their elevated positions above the general public and talk down to them. Unfortunately, the public is unable to hear them. This is not a failure of the Council to communicate but rather a problem that seems to be the results of poor acoustics within the Council Chambers. It appears that the architectural firm that designed this room knew very little about acoustics.
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| Las Cruces City Hall |
The Council Chambers part of the building seems to have been inadvertently designed like an echo chamber. It has been reported since the very first public meeting there that it was very difficult to hear because the acoustics were so bad because. The Council acknowledged from the beginning that they were aware of the problem and had ordered sound attenuation panels to mitigate it. The Council and the City staff have had sufficient time to correct the problem and yet it persists. Why? How effective is public participation when the public is unable to clearly hear what transpires at a Council meeting? Open public meetings are meaningless if the public is unable to hear what is being said. Members of the public are frustrated about this and some believe it is useless to attend Council meetings when they are unable to hear what City Council members, City staff and other agencies discuss.
Some of these sound quality difficulties could be mitigated if the Council and City staff members were more attentive to this issue. Specifically, they need to constantly be aware of the fact that there is a sound quality issue and speak directly and articulately into the microphone. One of the councilors speaks with a monotone and drops the volume at the end of every sentence and under the best of circumstances it is difficult to hear everything he says. Another Councilor begins talking into the “mike” and then turns her head away from the “mike” to address the other Council members. As a result many of her comments are difficult for the public to hear. Mayor Miyagishima and Councilor Silva are the most effective in using the microphones and are usually clearly understood throughout the Council Chambers. Unfortunately, the other Council Members apparently “don’t get it” when it comes to speaking so the public can hear what they say.
Another significant issue is the poorly designed steps that have caused the City to post warning signs about the steps after you enter the Council Chambers. Nearly every week someone stumbles or falls on these poorly lighted poorly designed steps. There are no handrails to assist individuals with mobility difficulties. If you are unable to negotiate the steps you are forced to use the ramp on the right side of the room. Why wasn’t this design followed for the center and left aisles as well? I would question if this room is in compliance with the American’s with Disabilities Act and apparently the City does not readily offer any hearing assistance devices to accommodate the hearing impaired. The City needs to focus on correcting the deficiencies in this room so it is safe and effective and so that it serves the public like it was originally conceived to do.
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