March 21, 2005Vol. 51 No. 3

JAIL ISUNDERCONTROLCACHE COUNTYJAIL’S COMMUNICATION,CONTROL SYSTEMSARE VITAL.

GREETINGSFROM MARSAV HELPS NASA’S JPLMARS ROVER MISSION.

JAIL ISUNDERCONTROLCACHE COUNTYJAIL’S COMMUNICATION,CONTROL SYSTEMSARE VITAL.

GREETINGSFROM MARSAV HELPS NASA’S JPLMARS ROVER MISSION.

AV KEEPSNYC SECURENYPD’S EOC SERVESMULTIPLE PURPOSES.

AV KEEPSNYC SECURENYPD’S EOC SERVESMULTIPLE PURPOSES.

Sound & Communications52 www.soundandcommunications.com

Clackamas County Hearing Room brings technology into the process.

BY JASON FRENCHMAN

AV AND GREEN GO TOGETHER

Jason Frenchman has covered the AV, broadcast and professional sound industries as a writer and communications pro-fessional for more than a decade.

The new $18.2 million ClackamasCounty Public Services Building (PSB)at Red Soils in the hilltop area of OregonCity was built on six of the county’s ap-proximately 55 acres at the site.

The 110,000-square-foot project isthe first built of a series of buildingsto house the county’s operations overthe next years. It was constructed withmodern energy efficiency andsustainability in mind, with a long-term plan to link the campus togetherwith a utility service provider connect-ing all future buildings to a centralplan for heating, ventilation, and airconditioning and energy usage via a“utilidor,” a corridor running thelength of the campus.

Clackamas County was able to se-cure 4.11% financing over 30 years bybeginning construction in 2003. Had

the county waited to begin construc-tion, it is highly unlikely such a lowrate could have been secured.

FinancesThe construction was financed prima-

rily with a 30-year Full Faith and Creditbond issue that will be repaid with an-nual payments corresponding to rentthe county would otherwise have paidto lease space for offices in multiple, far-flung buildings. Additional funds camefrom the county’s Capital ImprovementsProjects fund. No additional taxes arebeing levied to fund this building.

The county owns the land and addi-tional acres surrounding it, and plansto build out a campus of county build-ings to encompass most of the func-tions that do not have to be locatedremotely in the community.

The ClackamasCounty Public

Services Building,Clackamas County,

Oregon.

March 2005 53

‘Green’ BuildingAccording to the County Clerk’s of-

fice, the move to the new PSB has cre-ated greater efficiencies and cost sav-ings through the co-location of ser-vices and the savings realized fromrental and other costs that the countywould have accrued had the PSB notbeen constructed. They predict that,in the first year alone, use of the newPublic Services Building will savethousands of dollars because it is lessexpensive and considerably more ef-ficient to own one building than leaseoffice space in many different loca-tions.

The new PSB is expected to be cer-tified under the Leadership in Energyand Environmental Design (LEED)program [see “Green Audiovisual Sys-tems” by Joseph Bocchiaro, February2005], which will set the standard forall the buildings to follow, as well asfor any associated private develop-ment on or adjacent to the countyproperty.

To qualify as “green,” a buildingregisters with the US Green BuildingCouncil (www.usgbc.org), a nonprofitadvocacy group, which issues theseLEED ratings at various levels. Theaims of green building are to minimizethe use of energy, water and openspace, as well as to use sustainablyproduced materials, recycle waste and

have access to public transportationor car pools. As the buildings con-sume less energy and resources,they also strive to maximize the ad-vantages of nature: fresh air, sun-light, views and outdoor access.

Auto-Sensing:A Challenge

In keeping with this commitment tothe environment, the ENERGYSTAR-compliant building is fully out-fitted with unique auto-sensing fea-tures that turn on/off the lights andheating/cooling systems based onmovement (or lack thereof) in theroom.

These auto-sensing features cre-ated the first challenge. Although thisfeature is great for conserving en-ergy, the infrared mechanisms thatmake it possible posed some uniquechallenges for AV integratorCompView of Beaverton OR

“By emitting IR into the room, theauto-sensing feature had created‘holes’ where IR headphones couldnot operate within the IR-assisted lis-tening/translation portion of the au-diovisual system,” explained JamesLake of CompView. “We used an IRextender to ‘push’ the audio signalinto those holes so the assisted-listen-ing headphones would work.”

A broad view of the room from the commissioner dais. The broadcast booth is behindthe mirror.

Sound & Communications54 www.soundandcommunications.com

AV for the PeopleThe three-member Board of Com-

missioners serves as the governingbody of the Clackamas County govern-ment, setting policies, enacting ordi-nances and establishing budgets toperform the services that state lawand citizens of the county require. Thecommissioners hold a board meetingevery Thursday at 10:00am and landuse hearings on Wednesdays at9:30am.

These key meetings are now held ina new Hearing Room inside the PSB,fully outfitted with a host of AV tech-nology and expertise for presentationsfrom county staff and citizens, as wellas other state and local jurisdictions.

“The recording of these hearings isvery important because we use theaudio recording to transcribe minutesfrom the hearings, and the ClackamasCounty Courts who use the hearingroom on Mondays use the digital re-cording,” explained Mary Raethke,Clerk to the Board of ClackamasCounty. “Our hearings are broadcastlive on the local cable station and wenow have the capability to showviewer maps and presentations ontelevision.”

The large room can hold up to 150people and has also been used for re-ceptions, swearing-in ceremonies andmiscellaneous meetings.

System SnapshotThe Hearing Room features a testi-

monial table complete with an AMXNXT-CV7 touchscreen for control, anElmo EV-6000AF document camera,laptop connections, a Crown LM-201Plectern microphone and a D’San PSL-

From the Clerk’s table at the leftof the dais, you see the custom-programmed touchpanel controlsystem and the microphonecontrol box.

View from of the Clerk’s table

March 2005 55

CompViewCompView, a consultant for group communications products and services,

evaluates and integrates communication tools ranging from data/video pro-jectors and electronic whiteboards to audio, video and web conferencing sys-tems. The company also provides design and installation services. Servicesand programs include grant programs to help fund technology purchases foreducational institutions; strategic services offering volume pricing agree-ments, on-site services and e-commerce solutions for organization purchas-ing in excess of $250,000 annually; and emergent technology consulting.

Headquartered in Beaverton OR, CompView has locations in Seattle WA,Salt Lake City UT, The Twin Cities in Minnesota, and San Francisco, SantaBarbara/Ventura, Orange County and San Diego CA. For more information,visit www.compview.com.

10VF countdown clock, which is setby the Clerk and flashes yellow oncehalf of the testimony time has passed,then sounds a buzzer when the timehas expired. Once time has expired,the clock begins counting upward toshow the testimony’s overtime.

The Clerk’s table includes an ELOtouchpanel with an AMX NXP-TPI/4control system serving as the room’s“brain.” CompView handles all controlsystem programming in-house and, inorder to simplify control, incorporated aphoto of the room on the touchpanel in-terface with labels over each active area.

“The screen graphic labels make con-trol so intuitive that virtually anyone cansit down and quickly understand how tooperate the system,” said CompView’sLake, who served as project manager

This view from the middle of the room shows the countdown clock on the rightwall, the Clerk’s table on the left, testimony table in the middle and commissionerdais at the front.

and system programmer.The users agree. “We have had little

or no problems with the system sinceour first hearing,” said County ClerkRaethke. “I find the equipment veryuser friendly and the touchscreen isvery useful when moving through themany menus and programs.”

The Clerk’s table also includesD’San AV-1000 countdown clock con-trol and an equipment rack with VCR,DVD and FTR Gold digital audio re-corder. FTR Gold is a computer-baseddigital audio recording solution thatcaptures, stores, plays back, reviewsand manages records of hearings.

“One of our biggest challengesthroughout this project was integrat-ing FTR Gold into the AV system,”said Lake. “This unique software was

March 2005 57

EquipmentAV Presentation1 Chief RPA-0026 projector ceiling mount1 Epson PL8300 5200 lumen video data projector,

700:1 contrast1 Extron 8x4 data matrix router1 Extron 8x4 video matrix router1 Extron Cat5 receiver1 Extron Cat5 transmitter1 Extron computer scan converter1 Extron P/2 DA2xi local computer VGA DA1 Extron RGB DA1 Extron video interface in panels1 Extron video scaler2 Extron extender WM computer drivers2 Extron video interfaces5 Extron RGB to VGA adapters1 Middle Atlantic DVD rack mount1 Middle Atlantic VCR rack mount5 NEC LCD1560V-BK 15" dias LCD monitors3 Network Technologies Inc. USB-C5 USB to Cat5 converters1 Network Technologies Inc. Rackmux PCPS2MP-15 CPU rack k/m, monitor1 Onkyo DV-SP501 DVD player5 Premier PFP-200P LCD monitor mounts1 Sony SLV-N701 VCRProgram Audio1 Audio-Technica ATH-M30 headphone set2 Cal-Rad 25-396 volume controls1 Crown D75A audio amp3 Extron audio drivers1 Marantz PMD-350 CD, audio cassette player1 Marantz PMD-510 audio cassette recorder1 Polycom Vortex EF2280 matrix mixer1 RDL RUDA4D audio DA1 RDL STA-1 audio transformer7 SoundTube CM-EZ8 ceiling speakers1 TOA BG-115 audio amp w/rack kit1 Whirlwind MIX-8S stereo mixerVoice Reinforcement/Audio Conferencing1 Audio-Technica AEW-4230D wireless handheld trans/rcvr1 Audio-Technica AT831cW wireless lapel mic1 Audio-Technica AEW-4110D lapel bodypack, trans/recv1 Audio-Technica ATW-DA600 antenna coupler1 Audio-Technica ATW-A65 antenna9 Crown LM-201P dias mics1 Polycom 2230-90018-001 matrix package w/phone inter.4 Shure MX418C table mics18 SwitchCraft PL106705 push-to-mute buttons36 SwitchCraft PL102 mic mute button mounts

designed specifically for the judicialworld and was not envisioned for con-trol and integration with an audiovisualsystem, so we had to utilize our skillsin programming to allow the controlsystem to operate the software.”

The room’s video system is anchoredby a 5200 lumen Epson PL8300 projec-tor mounted to the ceiling, an OnkyoDVD player and Sony VCR, and a full

The broadcast booth is locatedbehind the two-way mirror atthe back of the room.

complement of Extron data and videorouters, scan converter, and a Cat5transmitter and receiver.

For additional viewing, theCommissioner’s Dais has two 15-inchNEC LCD monitors, and the audiencecan view everything on a 50-inch Ze-nith P50W38H plasma monitor.

The room’s voice-reinforcement sys-(continued on page 73)

(continued on page 73)

March 2005 73

2 SwitchCraft PL202 chair’s mute button centerAssisted Listening/Language Translation2 Cal-Rad 25-396 volume controls2 Phonic Ear PE 600EW wall-mounted IR emitters12 Phonic Ear PE 602R 2 channel receivers2 RDL ST-SH2 stereo headphone amps2 RDL STM-2 mic preampsRemote Control1 AMX NXP-TPI/4 touch monitor interface1 AMX TP4-RGB VGA input card1 AMX TP4-VID video input card1 AMX NXT-CV7 staff table touchscreen2 AMX AXD-MSP16 wall control panels1 AMX NI-3000 remote-control main frame1 AMX AXB-IRS4 IR controller1 AMX VSS2 video sync sensor1 AMX PC-link keyboard commander software1 AMX PowerPoint transmitter, receiver1 AMX ABS AxLink bus strip1 ELO 1525L 15" touchscreen monitor2 Extron VGA to RGB adaptersTestimonial Table1 AMX NXT-CV7 lectern touchscreen1 Crown LM-201P lectern mic1 Elmo EV-6000AF document camera1 Extron 6' installation cable1 Littlite L3/18 lectern light1 PermaPower RT-612 power distributionCountdown Clock1 D’San AV-1000 clerk display with controls1 D’San ASL-4ND3 large wall display1 D’San PSL-10VF witness displayDigital Audio Recorder1 FTR Gold AR1 Extron P/2 DA2xi MT computer driver1 Extron 26-490-01 3' VGA install cable w/audio1 RDL STA-1 audio transformerAudience Plasma1 Progressive CTM-100 plasma ceiling mount, adjustable pole, adapter plate1 Zenith P50W38H 50" plasma monitorMisc.1 Middle Atlantic WRK-44-32 equipment rack w/accessories

PanelCrafters custom panels, accessories27 SignWizards custom floor box labels27 SRC custom floor box panels

tem features SwitchCraft mute buttonswith nine Crown LM-201P micro-phones on the dais and Audio-Technica wireless handheld and lapelmics and receivers and antennae. Au-dio conferencing is done over aPolycom Matrix package.

All reports indicate that theClackamas County Board of Commis-sioners is thrilled about its new PSBand the new Hearing Room thatCounty Clerk Mary Raethke said “has

brought Clackamas County into the21st Century.”

Commissioner Martha Schrader,who is also Chair of the Board, put itthis way: “Our hearing room is a state-of-the-art facility that increases thecapacity of citizens to engage in thepractice of democracy. The technol-ogy enables us to make our govern-ment functions even more open andtransparent to the public.” ■

AV AND GREEN(Continued from page 57)

(Continued from page 57)

List is editedfrom informa-

tion supplied byCompView.