Town Manager Michael McCall and IT Director Nick Lombardi explained why there were microphone problems at town meetings and the action they were taking in an interview on Feb. 5. In a Wayland Post earlier edition, we reported that a review of meeting transcripts from 2025 identified audio-related disruptions in approximately 138 meetings across more than a dozen town boards and committees. Sounds faded in and out, often missing key sentences or entire exchanges for residents watching from home, while the experience for attendees was just as frustrating.
Transcripts frequently note comments such as “We can’t hear you”. Public comment is also affected. Both residents and board members are asked to repeat themselves, speak louder, or change position.
McCall attributed the problems to human error, technology, mechanics in the room, or room structure. He said each meeting room poses a different problem. He said the meeting room in the new Council on Aging building has state-of-the-art equipment, but there is a “learning curve” for board members.
However, he discovered that COA employees were locking up the microphones before they went home, so board members did not have access to them. He said he is working with them to make the microphones available for evening meetings that are held there.
The Select Board meeting room presents a different problem. The vent for Town Hall’s HVAC, heat and air conditioning system, is located in the select board meeting room, according to McCall. The system makes a lot of noise, which the audio system picks up. If they shut off the system, people would be cold or hot, depending on the season. As an interim solution, he said, they moved Select Board meetings to another room.
McCall said the problems with the large conference and Wayland Commons (formerly COA) conference rooms in Town Hall are the high ceilings and technology. He said the high-ceiling meeting rooms were designed for in-person meetings and there is no sound absorption.
The other problem, according to McCall, is the use of alternating and outdated technology systems. He said the lifespan of most technology is five years and Wayland’s equipment was purchased either before or during Covid. The decision to purchase Owl Labs technology, he said, focused on Zoom meetings during Covid. However, the company’s website indicates that Owl Labs updated its meeting equipment three times since its first sale in 2021, and it has created the technology for participants sitting at a conference table.
Until a decision is made on updating Town Hall, McCall said he is reluctant to spend a lot of money on a new system. According to McCall, most new systems are built into the ceilings to eliminate wires. Lombardi said the town ordered two microphones and a standing microphone as a temporary solution for the bigger rooms. He said the three microphones cost $12,000, which includes installation and equipment.
They are also looking for other solutions, according to Lombardi. Both he and WayCAM are independently researching and engaging vendors to seek solutions and to determine what equipment is available to resolve the town’s acoustic problems.
McCall and Lombardi are also talking to peers from other towns to determine what they are using. Lombardi said they are looking for the “best cost-effective solution” for the town.McCall explained that the temporary items are a capital expense and could come out of the operations budget, but with other costly items in the budgett, he might have to seek an alternative.
He said he could apply to state Sen. Jamie Eldridge for a grant to cover the costs for new audio technology, but said the state’s approval would not be granted until July. However, he conceded that he could ask for reimbursement.
“We are taking this problem seriously,” McCall said. “We are looking for a short-term solution. We have three different rooms in Town Hall with different problems. Having good technology opens up participation to everyone.
There also needs to be a focus on hybrid participation, he added, since that is the “wave of the future,” and it will allow for greater participation in town government.
In a separate interview, Town Moderator Miranda Jones said that most of the complaints she had heard appear to be due to the microphone placement. Although her husband said he sometimes struggled to hear her at meetings, she has not heard many other complaints, even though 40% of attendees at these meetings are over 65 years old, Jones said. Most of the complaints she gets are when residents speak into the procedural (middle) microphone, which is in front of the moderator. Rather than facing the audience, some speakers face her instead. She guessed it may be because they feel it’s rude to have their back to her. She is contemplating moving the microphone to the side and is seeking resident input.
Wayland hires a vendor each year to handle the AV technology at the Annual Town Meeting held in the Wayland gym.
