Whately Historical Commission Plans Free Audio Tour of Town Center

Other Committee · Meeting of March 4, 2026

Whately Historical Commission advances low-cost audio walking tour of town center. At the March 4 meeting, member Ashley presented a proposal to build a self-guided tour of Whately Center using SoundCloud's free hosting tier, short recorded audio clips of 90 seconds to three minutes per stop, and free editing software called Audacity. Members discussed borrowing recording equipment from Frontier Regional School's drama department or its FCAT media studio rather than purchasing a microphone, keeping costs to a minimum.

The commission agreed its next step is to inventory existing historical content and determine the number of tour stops before approaching any voice talent. Separately, the commission's proposed budget increase — from $200 to $800 annually, the first adjustment since 2008 — goes before the Select Board and Finance Committee this Wednesday; one member noted that inflation alone would justify raising the figure to roughly $325. The commission also rescheduled its April meeting from the 20th to April 13 to avoid a school vacation conflict.

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Source: the Other Committee meeting of March 4, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.