Information Services Advisory Board

Information Services Advisory Board

MINUTES

January 2, 2007, 6:00 p.m.

Town Hall Campus

Council Large Conference Room #10035

316 N. Academy Street, Cary, North Carolina

www.townofcary.org

Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 6:03 p.m.

Present

Lee Douglas, Mark Evangelista, John Fitzpatrick, Tangie Hofer (6:39), Helen Hutchings, Nazi Kite, John Nolander, Vijay Raghavendran (6:08 p.m.), Council Liaison Julie Robison (6:08), Engineering staff Lori Cove, Traffic Management Director, and David Spencer, Traffic Engineer, and Staff Liaisons Susan Moran and Teri Peralta

Absent

Terra Brown-Shelton, Todd McGee

Approval of Minutes

Mr. Douglas moved that the minutes from the December 5, 2007, meeting be approved. A second was provided by Mr. Fitzpatrick and the minutes were approved unanimously.

Watch List: Web Site Overhaul

Mr. Nolander observed that Ms. Boone’s update on the upgrades to the Web site was Interesting and colorful.

Watch List: Traffic Management System Update to Citizens

There were no comments on this item.

Watch list: Dynamic Message Signs

Mr. Fitzpatrick asked if engineering staff are aware when one of the dynamic message signs becomes disabled. Ms. Cove replied that, yes, they have the ability to communicate with most of the signs remotely, and they can change the message manually at the sign site if necessary, adding that if there were a problem communicating with the sign, it could be an indication that the problem might be with the modem connection or fiber optics.

Watch list: RSS Technology

Ms. Moran stated that the Technology Services department had intended to launch an RFP in December for the content management system and that RSS was included as one of the offerings we would like to see in the communications system.

Mrs. Robison arrived at 6:08 p.m.

Mr. Raghavendran arrived at 6:08 p.m.

Old/New Business: Re-examination of Board Mission

Mr. Evangelista reminded the board that this was a continuation of a discussion that began at the November meeting and asked that the board hear Ms. Cove’s presentation first and then pick up the discussion of the board’s mission statement.

Old/New Business: Review Proposed Dynamic Message Sign Policy Statement and Standard Procedure

Ms. Moran reminded the board that during their discussions in the previous year concerning dynamic message signs they recommended that a formal policy and procedure be put in place to guide the use of those signs. She stated Ms. Cove, who joined the Engineering Department about eight months ago from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, was directed to work with staff on getting these in place. Knowing council would want input from this advisory board, Ms. Moran invited Ms. Cove and Mr. Spencer to get feedback from the group. She introduced Ms. Cove who explained that the main goal of the policy and procedure is to protect the health and welfare of the public.

Mr. Fitzpatrick remarked that the policy and procedures were well written and asked if the finalized version would be posted on the Web site. Ms. Cove responded that once council approved them they would likely be included with other policies and procedures available online along with a link to the traffic page.

Mr. Spencer explained that the language of these documents is comparable to the policies and procedures of other municipalities using dynamic message signs, adding that use of capital letters also seems to be a statewide standard.

Mr. Evangelista asked if the messages would be one page for the most part, and Ms. Cove explained that, due to the size of the signs, most messages would probably be two pages but they would try to keep them as succinct as possible. She also noted that there is a need to be careful of the wording so that travelers who may not be familiar with festival names would not be confused. Ms. Moran reminded the board that the DOT was specific about not using the signs for advertising or promoting an event.

Ms. Cove also noted that, because some of the signs are located in Cary and some in Morrisville, there is a need to identify the township when referencing a downtown event. Mr. Fitzpatrick asked if all signs have the same message. Ms. Cove replied that depending on the traffic issue or event, they might all have the same message to give drivers time to circumnavigate, or they might have specific messages for different parts of town, as was the case with the “boil water” messaging. She also stated that the approval of the policy and procedure would have no fiscal or staffing impact.

Mr. Fitzpatrick suggested that the location of the signs could be added as a new layer or added to an existing layer of the Town’s map system for the benefit of planning. Ms. Cove agreed it could prove helpful and cited the removal of the DMS on Davis Drive during the road widening project in that area as an example.

Mr. Raghavendran asked how Traffic Management received information from the various entities and Mr. Spencer explained that in an emergency situation they receive pages from an emergency broadcast system along with phone calls and emails. He noted that some situations, such as the recent house moving project, can be planned for ahead of time so that traffic can be detoured and motorists are not unduly delayed.

Mrs. Robison commented that the policy and standard procedure appeared to be quite comprehensive and asked about community groups or organizations who might want to post a message. Ms. Cove responded that if a group’s event would significantly affect traffic, then the signs could display a generic reference and provide alternate driving options. She stated that the Town of Morrisville approached the Town of Cary about using the signs when moving a house across a busy highway, noting this as an example of a situation that had an obvious impact on traffic and clearly fit within the policy and procedures criteria.

Mrs. Robison suggested that the board schedule a tour of the Traffic Management Center when the signs are all fully operational, and Ms. Cove suggested they come during rush hour if at all possible.

Mr. Evangelista thanked Ms. Cove and Mr. Spencer for joining the board to share the policy and procedure documents with them.

Old/New Business: Re-examination of Board Mission

Mr. Evangelista began the discussion by asking Mr. Fitzpatrick to review the last meeting. Mr. Fitzpatrick summarized by stating that one of the Mayor’s primary objectives is to increase the openness and transparency of government and that he was looking forward to working with the board in this endeavor.

Ms. Hofer arrived at 6:39 p.m.

Mr. Nolander observed that Mayor Weinbrecht seemed to be very excited about opening channels of communication between government and citizens by using various tools, including a personal blog site. He expressed concern that the mission statement might not be encompassing enough and suggested that a new mission statement should allow the board to be much more dynamic.

Mr. Evangelista expressed concern that the board’s mission statement and discussions could be somewhat limited by the experience and background of the members that form the group, noting that the board is generally comprised of people with technology-related experience but that marketing or fiscal experience is not specifically sought out. Ms. Robison observed that the current composition of the board should allow a variety of discussions without the need for financial or other experts and felt confident in their ability to bring recommendations to council. She added that appropriate staff could be invited to the discussion should it become necessary.

Discussions continued to center on the importance of recognizing that Cary citizens need to be the focus of all the board’s actions, that meaningful communication with citizens is fundamental to any recommendations made by the board, and that understanding the needs of the citizens is an ongoing process and should be part of the board’s mission.

Ms. Moran outlined the Town’s goal, from a public information perspective, to build and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with the public, based on an open system communication model. She explained that this open communication stipulates that the organization recognizes it is part of a dynamic environment that it impacts and is impacted by and that the organization is willing to change based on the environment in which it lives. She went on to say that one thing that makes Cary different is the willingness to receive information from its citizens, digest that information and make any necessary adjustments to policies, procedures or perspectives based on that better understanding of the environment. She encouraged the board to reflect on this goal as they thought about and developed their mission statement because it can increase the level or responsiveness to the citizens’ needs.

With that the board felt that they had enough to draft out a mission statement and asked Ms. Hutchings to try to put something together and bring it back to the next meeting. Ms. Moran asked that they please incorporate the Town’s mission statement and statement of values into the board’s mission statement.

Ms. Moran encouraged board members to watch the new council television program schedule to begin airing on February 1.

Statement of Findings

The board found that the proposed policy and standard procedure concerning the use of dynamic message signs was complete. The board continued discussion of its mission statement and expect to review a draft version at the next meeting.