Last spring, the city of Seaside came out of the electronic Dark Ages with a new, user-friendlier website. Now it's taking another step to improve public access: posting Video on Demand archives of City Council and Redevelopment Agency meetings online.

The effort is a collaboration between the city and Access Monterey Peninsula (AMP). The pre-recorded meetings, dating back to Oct. 15, 2009, can be viewed online with Windows Media Player beginning on the Monday following the meeting.

Seaside now joins the cities of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, Marina and Del Rey Oaks, along with Monterey County, in posting archived meeting videos online. Carmel also offers a live stream.

The cities of Salinas and Pacific Grove still go about it the old-fashioned way, posting meeting minutes online and archiving videos at City Hall.