Letter: More to Taping Meetings Than We Know

Editor,

To clarify ... it costs $350 to rent the equipment for each meeting. He has to rent 13 microphones with stands, mixing board to accommodate all the mics, cables, table cloths so we are not staring at people's legs and whatever else he needs.

He does not use the station's camera, that is his and it's a "car payment" for him every month. He has to go pick up the rented equipment which is time and gas. He hires an assistant for $50 and they come two hours before the meetings, 5 p.m., to set up. Then records the meeting regardless of the length and breaks down after the meeting which is a good hour. 

After that, he returns all the equipment which is more time and gas. It takes him hours to download the meeting and adjust the sound so it's acceptable for air. So that leaves $300 for Doug to cover all the time he's put into it. If you do the math... it's about $20 and hour, if that.

Mendham TV only employees him for five hours a week so he has to do freelance work in order to support his wife and kids.

Additionally, Doug purchased one piece of used equipment for the board tapings last week, but said he can't keep doing that if the district isn't going to commit to the ongoing tapings.

He also gave Doug Pechanec the list of equipment needed and the money if the district wanted to purchase everything, which is approx $7,000. That figure would be a lot higher if the district needed to buy the camera and tripod that Doug Black provides.

Hope this clarifies things.

Dannah Asrejadid and Linda Alexander
Mendham Township