Information Services Advisory Board
MINUTES
May 4, 2006, 5:30 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 5:36 p.m.
Introduction of Members
Mr. Evangelista introduced new member Terra Brown-Shelton.
Present: Donna Bravo, Terra Brown-Shelton, Lee Douglas, Mark Evangelista, John Fitzpatrick, Dayna Guzik, Nazi Kite, Council Liaison Julie Robison, and Staff members Susan Moran and Teri Peralta
Absent: Frank De Vita, Tangie Hofer, and John Nolander
Approval of Minutes
The minutes from the March 2, 2006 meeting were approved unanimously. Mr. Evangelista thanked all for their attendance. Ms. Moran stated that in January each year Council adopts their official calendar which reflects changes in dates, times, and locations of some regular meetings because of holidays or general practices of the council. She explained that this was the reason for the change in the April meeting and reminded members that the calendar is on the Town’s Web site for reference.
Old Business
Wireless Mesh and WIFI Discussion
Mr. Evangelista asked if there were any comments concerning follow-up from the last WIFI discussion. Ms. Robison stated that she made a request to the Mayor to put WIFI on the next council agenda but there wasn’t room, and when they talked about bringing it up at the retreat the Mayor felt it would be better addressed at another time. She also noted that they are evaluating whether it should go to the Operations Committee or be put on the agenda. Ms. Robison expressed that members of Heart of Cary she has been in contact with are anxious to express their interest to the Mayor. Since it does not commit council to investigate costs associated with WIFI and the potential public partnership, she hoped to be bringing this topic up again at the next council meeting.
Mr. Evangelista stated that Mr. Stice attended a seminar in April that dealt with the technical issues involved with WIFI. It was asked if the Heart of Cary needs the Town’s approval to put WIFI downtown. Ms. Moran explained that they do not need approval from the Town but that the Heart of Cary is interested in having the Town handle the project and either front initial expenses or have a partnership of some sort with the Town.
A discussion ensued regarding municipality participation in the setup of town-wide WIFI systems, noting that it is not uncommon. San Francisco and Anaheim were cited as examples. It was noted that if Town staff were to be involved in investigating and evaluating costs and equipment, it would be mainly Technology Services staff handling the study. Ms. Moran indicated that any steps taken by Town staff would have to be at council’s direction and described the process of bringing an item to council for their direction. She explained that council could direct staff to do evaluations for two to four options or to oversee an actual technical study. When those options have been reported on, Ms. Robison and another council member would get it on the agenda and present the case to council and make a recommendation. Council would vote up or down and staff might be involved to clarify any questions.
Ms. Moran then explained that if staff were directed to investigate, the ISAB will have fulfilled their role in the process. They would be aware of the report but not in a position to evaluate the staff report before it goes to council. She explained that, as it was on the advice of the ISAB to begin looking into this particular topic, council would likely be interested in getting some feedback from the board at some point.
Ms. Moran noted that the wireless issue was explored in focus groups held in late February and early March and shared some of the feedback with the board. She stated that as well as continued support for wireless, participants were quite specific about what they thought would and wouldn’t work. She explained that many felt downtown wireless – in parks or on the streets –was a good idea, but they did not think the Town should be involved in facilitating wireless for inside businesses. Ms. Moran continued by stating that most felt the Town should not lose money on it but should at least recover any investments in WIFI, if not make a profit, and that it should become self-supporting. She concluded by stating that should staff be directed to begin looking this in greater detail, those are things that will be kept in mind as options are being developed for council review. Ms. Robison added that she planned to bring up wireless at the next council meeting and invited ISAB members to attend to demonstrate their commitment and interest.
New Business
Biennial Survey Results
Mr. Evangelista introduced Ms. Moran to discuss the Biennial Survey Results. She expressed a desire to continue the discussion at the next meeting should time run short at this meeting.
Ms. Moran started by stating that this survey is very important to the foundation of the ISAB, noting that the survey is only conducted once every two years so that staff is able to analyze the results, put changes in place, and have enough time to see if they work. She discussed the process and methodology of the survey, noting that the survey has about 50 questions on it each year. Ms. Moran went on to explain that about 25-33% of the survey consists of demographic questions that don’t change much from survey to survey so that staff can compare and make sure that the cross-section of respondents is consistent with the demographics of the rest of the population. It also provides a means of comparison from year to year. She also explained that the survey asks a series of questions about emerging hot issues such as WIFI, and emergency preparedness, and aquatics. Ms. Moran noted that the third category consists of questions asked from survey to survey to track trends in basic services and performance, including specific questions concerning the Police, Fire, and Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources departments since these departments have national accreditation and must meet certain standards in order keep that accreditation.
Ms. Moran directed attention to questions within that third category regarding information – sources of information, how informed citizens feel, and how involved they feel they are in the community. Pointing to specific results tables, she highlighted the jump from last year in The Cary News being identified as a source of information, explaining that this is largely due to a change in the distribution patter of the newspaper from approximately 30% to 70% of Cary residents.
Mr. Evangelista encouraged members to review the survey results closely for the next meeting.
Ms. Bravo left at 6:33 p.m.
There was discussion of the Town’s calendar and it was clarified that only official Town meetings are shown, while other Town events are listed in other places on the Town’s Web site. It was also noted that funding for improvements to the calendar was not approved as part of the FY 2007 budget.
Ms. Robison left at 6:39 p.m.; Ms. Guzik left at 6:40 p.m.
Mr. Evangelista reviewed the agenda items for the next few meetings.
Comments
a. Statement of Findings
The topic of wireless networking in the Town of Cary was revisited and the Board will await further updates from council liaison and Technology Services at the June meeting. A discussion of the Biennial Survey and focus group results was begun and will continue at the next meeting.
b. Citizen comments
There were no citizen comments.
c. Member comments
Mr. Fitzpatrick noted that there have been several links on the Town’s Web site that are old and not linking correctly.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 6:46p.m.
The next meeting of the ISAB will be held on Thursday, June 1, 2006, at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Large Conference Room #10035, 316 N. Academy Street, Cary.