Don Scott Presents
Short audio and video summaries of Bedford Town Board meetings, built to make local government easier to follow.
Why It Exists
Town Board meetings happen every other week. These recaps turn long public meetings into shorter summaries residents can watch or listen to when they have time.
What It Covers
Recent Recaps
Each entry below links to the video recap on YouTube and the audio recap on Spotify.
May 5, 2026
This recap covers new DPW truck purchases, updates on Bedford Village’s PFAS-related water infrastructure project, proposed changes to the town’s commercial sign ordinance, affordable housing discussions, and several community program and event approvals.
Watch & Listen
How This Was Built
This campaign is committed to showing its work, not just stating positions. When a tool or workflow helps clarify a local issue, it should be explained, shared, and made useful beyond the campaign. The instruction set used to summarize a meeting transcript into digestible audio and video recaps is published here in full.
How These Recaps Are Made
This workflow uses NotebookLM, a free tool from Google, along with the public YouTube recording of each Bedford Town Board meeting. Any resident can use the same method for any public meeting.
Step 1. Start With the Public YouTube Recording
The Town of Bedford posts most Town Board meetings on YouTube. Find the recording for the meeting you want to recap.
Step 2. Get the Transcript
YouTube generates automatic transcripts for most videos. Open the video, click the three-dot menu below the video, and select “Open transcript.” Copy the full text. You can also paste the video’s URL directly as a source in NotebookLM.
Step 3. Open NotebookLM
Go to notebooklm.google.com and create a new notebook. Add the transcript, the video link, or both as sources.
Step 4. Ask for a Civic Summary
Use the prompt below. NotebookLM will create a clear, neutral, resident-friendly summary of the meeting.
Step 5. Create the Audio and Video Overview
Use NotebookLM’s Audio Overview feature to generate a spoken version. This becomes the foundation of the Spotify audio recap and the YouTube video recap.
Step 6. Human Review Before Publishing
Review the summary against the original meeting video. Correct any errors. Remove anything unclear or unsupported by the source material. These recaps are meant to help residents follow local government — not to replace the official meeting record.
Residents can use the same method for school board meetings, planning board meetings, or any other public meeting with a recording or transcript.
Prompt to Use in NotebookLM
“Using the transcript of this Bedford Town Board meeting, create a clear, neutral, resident-friendly summary. Focus on the decisions discussed, issues raised, votes taken, deadlines, costs, resident impacts, and follow-up items. Avoid partisan framing. Do not add facts that are not in the transcript. Flag anything that is unclear or needs human review. Then create a shorter audio/video overview script that explains the meeting in plain English for a Bedford resident who did not attend.”
Note
AI can make public information easier to follow. It still requires human judgment, source-checking, and common sense. These recaps are not official Town of Bedford minutes. For the full public record, refer to the Town’s official agendas, videos, and published minutes when available.