Ohio County commissioners review agenda items during a meeting in October. The commission will soon begin streaming its meetings on YouTube. (File Photo)

WHEELING — The public will be able to watch live-streaming of Ohio County Commission meetings online beginning early next year.

The purchase of an “owl camera” and other items needed for the streaming was completed as part of upgrades happening to facilities at the City-County Building. The camera was in place for meetings occurring on Nov. 18 and Dec. 2, with participants taking part after receiving a Zoom link via email.

For now, the technology is only being tested, and streaming to the public isn’t yet available, according to County Administrator Randy Russell.

“We are testing a model,” he said. “Currently our commission meetings can be viewed as a Zoom meeting. We are testing this and trying to perfect it.

“The technology doesn’t always work in our favor. But at some point in time (the public will be able to tune in.) We have set up a YouTube channel, and citizens will be able to watch on the YouTube channel.”

This will be possible “sometime after the first of the year,” Russell continued.

The meetings also will be archived for future viewing.

“Yes, we will leave them out there,” he said. “I don’t know what the storage capacity is, but they will be out there.”

The commission is making the move toward live-streaming meetings because “that’s what the state wants us to do,” according to Russell.

“That is the direction the state is going. They would like to see commissions live-stream their meetings,” he said. “We’re going to get there. Streaming the meetings isn’t difficult as long as the technology cooperates.”

During the first meeting streamed the technology “didn’t cooperate very well,” Russell reported. The streaming of the Dec. 2 meeting went off with few to no glitches.

“For now, we’re just doing the Zoom to see how this all is going to work, and we’ll go from there,” he said.

Once regular live-streaming of meetings begins, the public will be able to access a link to the YouTube channel through the commission’s website at www.ohiocountywv.gov/.

The next meeting of the commission is set for 8 a.m. Tuesday at the City-County Building, 1500 Chapline St., Wheeling. Members of the commission also are members of the Ohio County Development Authority, which is set to meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at The Highlands Event Center.