The Bismarck Park Board will makes its television debut next week, appearing on Community Access Television for their regular meeting and subsequent 2008 budget hearing.

Televising local government meetings on the other side of the river is taking on some momentum.

For more than a year Susan Beehler and her group RPM (Revitalize & Preserve Mandan) have taken it upon themselves to videotape meetings for rebroadcast on CATV.

This past week Beehler approached the Mandan City Commission requesting $16,800 to handle the expenses involved with the process. The money will be used to buy tapes, transportation and a small stipend for those volunteers willing to sit through the meetings to do the camera work.

The amount requested represents 10 percent of what Mandan receives for cable television franchise rights. Of the total, $10,800 will go to CATV and the rest to RPM.

Mandan city administrator Jim Neubauer has been speaking with CATV executive director Mary Van Sickle about possibly installing video equipment in the commission room similar to that in the Bismarck/Burleigh Tom Baker Room. The estimate was some $60,000, $20,000 more than two years ago when Neubauer entered into similar conversations with CATV.

CATV is planning on adding a second local access channel or PEG (Public Education Government channel) which will be primarily devoted to local government meetings, the city administrator noted.

Neubauer noted that this system came with "all the bells and whistles," and he feels it can be done for less and asked for more time to research the issue.

The Mandan City Commission appears interested in footing the bill, but only if the other local jurisdictions participate - school board, county commission and park board.

The problem arises in getting all the groups to use the same room for their meetings. Their also could be problems in programs in the Morton County Commission meetings.

While, the city, school board and park board tend to hold their meetings in two hours or less, the county commission meetings tend to be all-day affairs, beginning at 10 a.m., breaking for lunch, and then resuming until 5 p.m. This is probably not "must see TV."

It doesn't appear the Mandan City Commission will fund RPM's efforts. Commissioner Dan Ulmer isn't sure whether developing a studio in the commission room is the way to go. He feels it might make more sense for the city to do what RPM has been doing, taping of meetings for rebroadcast.

Ulmer said the city can probably use its own employees for the effort, particularly since department heads are on hand for entire meetings, often doing nothing more than awaiting possible questions from the commission.

In response to Beehler's request, commissioner Tim Helbling noted that earlier in the meeting, during the budget hearing, she had implored commissioners to further cut the budget, yet here she was asking for a sizeable amount of money.

After further discussion the commission decided to table the issue for further review.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 701-250-8255 or gordon.weixel@bismarcktribune.com.)