Information Services Advisory Board
MINUTES
March 5, 2008
Town Hall Campus
Council Large Conference Room #10035
316 N. Academy Street, Cary, North Carolina
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:33 p.m.
Present: Bruce Barnes, Terra Brown-Shelton, Lee Douglas, Thomas Eck, John Fitzpatrick, Helen Hutchings, John Nolander, Vijay Raghavendran, Staff Liaisons Susan Moran and Teri Peralta
Absent: Mary Margaret Barnes, Mark Evangelista, Council Liaison Julie Robison
Mr. Nolander began by nominating Mr. Fitzpatrick as Vice Chairperson. Mr. Lee provided a second and the nomination passed by unanimous vote.
Mr. Fitzpatrick then opened the meeting by allowing each member an opportunity to introduce themselves.
Approval of Minutes
Mr. Lee moved that the minutes from the February 6 meeting be approved. A second was offered by Ms. Hutchings and the motion passed unanimously.
Watch Item: Web Site Overhaul
Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that Target was sued for failing to meet ADA Web site requirements, adding that there are two sets of standards that must be met. He indicated that he contacted Ms. Boone, who is responsible for the Town’s Web content, and she confirmed that the Town’s Web site meets all ADA requirements. Ms. Moran added that it exceeds other area government standards in adhering to ADA requirements, particularly in that if any pdf files are used an html version is also made available and text tags are used.
Watch Item: Traffic Management System Updates to Citizen
Ms. Moran stated that wink was launched this week online. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that he was disappointed with size of picture online and noted that it is not a real-time display but that it refreshes every 30 seconds. He also said the orientation display is lost because with such a small picture. Ms. Moran asked that the other members take a look at the Web page and bring any feedback to the next meeting. Mr. Fitzpatrick said he thought one or two of the cameras were DOT cameras and Ms. Moran indicated that all NCDOT cameras can be accessed through the Town’s Web site and that those that might be helpful to citizens traveling through Cary are presented on the wink Web page. Mr. Fitzpatrick countered that the DOT cameras showed the time and date whereas the Cary cameras did not and felt that for the sake of consistency they should all be the same.
Mr. Nolander asked if a study has been done by the traffic management group showing the value of this feature. Ms. Moran explained that council requested a comprehensive consultant’s report outlining all the ways travel time in Cary could be improved, not just by widening the roads. She went on to say that this report was presented to council sometime between 1999 and 2001, and based on this study that council made their decision to develop a traffic management system which included the dynamic message signs. Mr. Nolander asked if the traffic management staff did any kind of follow-up on the consultants report and put their stamp on it that this adds value to the town, and Ms. Moran replied that staff members are acting at the direction of council to implement that tool.
Mr. Fitzpatrick noted that the timing of the traffic signals changes throughout the day and thought it should not rely on a timer but should be more dynamic and change with the traffic flow. Ms. Moran responded that it does not rely solely on timers but staff in the traffic management center monitor traffic from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. and adjust the signals as necessary to alleviate congestion. She also suggested that he contact Ms. Cove, the Traffic Engineering Manager, who could provide a more detailed explanation of how it works.
Watch Item: Dynamic Message Signs
There were no comments on this item.
Watch Item: RSS Technology
Mr. Brown asked if RSS technology referred to being notified of press releases, and Ms. Moran replied that there have been discussions regarding the ability of citizens to choose the topics they would like to receive updates about in the future.
New/Old Business: Mission Statement Implementation
Ms. Moran began by stating that at the request the ISAB the proposed new mission statement was taken to the Operations Committee on the consent agenda. She indicated that it required no discussion and will remain on consent for the council meeting.
She then reminded the board of their desire to establish a framework for implementation of their new mission statement and emphasized the importance of completing that discussion before they get into goal setting, as it will set the foundation for their work for the coming year.
Ms. Hutchings then shared four primary means of implementation of the board’s new mission statement.
1. Better Understanding of Cary Citizens
She suggested that board members should gain a better understanding of the Cary citizens demographically, psychologically and attitudinally through existing processes such as the biennial survey, public hearings, workshops, focus groups and involvement with other organizations. She suggested that the member comment portion of the meeting would be a good time to update the board of any meetings or public hearings attended and Ms. Moran advised that it might be helpful if they received some observational training.
Mr. Nolander explored the idea of observational training in more detail, and Ms. Moran commented that it would include gaining an understanding of what you see, such as body language and reactions, as well as what you hear, and what you ascertain from what was not said. She added that sometimes the presence of an observer can change the dynamics of a conversation or event.
Ms. Moran noted that communication can only be effective if you understand fully your audience, saying that the more you know about the population better off you are. She added that as the board continues to gain a better understanding of the needs of Cary citizens as individuals and as a whole, they may find that it affects what they choose to focus on at future meetings. Ms. Moran suggested that a review of the Biennial Citizen Satisfaction Survey be considered at a future meeting.
2. Generate New Ideas
Ms. Hutchings continued by suggesting that they identifying ways to generate new ideas for communication and interaction with citizens, emphasizing the need to be cognizant of content, what information needs to be communicated to citizens.
3. Accountability
Ms. Hutchings also considered it important that the board develop recommendations on how to measure and understand the effectiveness of communications, adding that she hoped to see the board make more recommendations to council in the upcoming months.
4. New Technologies
Ms. Hutchings noted that existing technologies are already pursued by the Town along with new and emerging technology. Mr. Fitzpatrick agreed that the board should look at new technologies on a grander scale than they had in the past, expressing disappointment that the ISAB was not included in the initial plans for the new transit plan.
Mr. Eck expressed a desire to look more closely at what new technology is important to citizens, noting that he would like to become more familiar with what is already being done in order to explore ways to augment it. He asked if the Technology Services Director had a master plan that they could review. Mr. Nolander reminded the board that it is not their place to direct or guide staff, but to make recommendations to council. Ms. Moran indicated that Mr. Stice is always available to answer any questions the board might have.
Ms. Moran indicated that she would bring observation training research to the next meeting and that she would speak to Mr. Stice about the most effective ways for new board members to get up to speed on his “big picture” and future plans.
Statement of Findings
Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that the board discussed the new Mission Statement and the proposed implementation procedure drafted by Ms. Hutchings and that discussions will continue. He also stated that the board can expect input from Mr. Stice and Ms. Moran at future meetings.
Ms. Moran explained that Mayor Weinbrecht’s 100-Day Plan included a way of coming up with mini task forces for citizen initiated issue groups and that council established a task force to establish a framework for this process. She stated that this task force would like to bring their proposed recommendation to the ISAB for their feedback at their April meeting.
Citizen Comments
There were no citizen comments.
Member Comments
Mr. Nolander stated he has found some information about open meetings and electronic communications and that he thought it would be interesting for the board to consider this topic. Ms. Moran added that council has on their legislative agenda requesting clarification from the state on the open meetings law, specifically with regards to electronic communication. It has been identified by staff as something council should consider. Mr. Nolander suggested that this might be put on the watch list.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 7:38 p.m.