Information Services Advisory Board
MINUTES
June 1, 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 5:37 p.m.
Present: Donna Bravo, Terra Brown-Shelton, Lee Douglas, Mark Evangelista, John Fitzpatrick, Dayna Guzik, Tangie Hofer, Nazi Kite, John Nolander, Council Liaison Julie Robison, and Staff members Susan Moran and Teri Peralta
Absent: Frank De Vita
Approval of Minutes
The minutes from the May 4, 2006 meeting were approved unanimously with noted corrections.
New/Old Business
a. Revised Meeting Schedule
Ms. Moran stated that because town-wide WIFI discussion carried over into several meetings, it was necessary to reschedule some of the other topics the ISAB had planned to address this year. She noted that the Board would need to officially adopt a revised meeting schedule, which was prepared with the Board’s priorities in mind, and that she would then coordinate with Town staff to speak at some of these meetings. Mr. Evangelista reminded Board members to review the new schedule and come prepared to speak to the topic they initiated for discussion. The revised meeting schedule is as follows:
JUNE: Biennial Survey Results (continued)
JULY: Citizen Involvement, general
Citizen Communications in planning and development issues
AUGUST: Emergency Notification, Information, and CERT
SPECIAL GUEST ALLAN CAIN
SEPTEMBER: Foreign language communication
OCTOBER: Wireless and Open Source Update from Bill Stice
Streaming Video
Accessibility of older information on Town’s Web site,
PowerPoint, etc.
SPECIAL GUEST BILL STICE
NOVEMBER: Web overhaul; Annual Report - Discussion
SPECIAL GUEST DEANNA BOONE
DECEMBER: Annual report – Vote
JANUARY: Non-electronic communication
Ms. Brown-Shelton made a motion to adopt the revised meeting schedule. Ms. Bravo provided a second and the motion passed unanimously.
New/Old Business
b. Biennial Survey Results
Mr. Evangelista introduced Ms. Moran to discuss the Biennial Survey Results. She began by discussing Internet access among Cary residents noting that there what is known as a “digital divide” in Cary. She went on to explain that approximately 30% of Cary citizens with an income of $20,000 or less have no Internet access at all and about 40% of Cary citizens with an income of $20,000–$30,000 have no access to the Internet. Ms. Moran stated that knowing this helps the Town to make sensible decisions about how to reach Cary residents with important information.
Ms. Moran then noted that for the last several years the biennial survey has included questions concerning particular educational efforts. She explained that in the case of storm drains the State of North Carolina mandates that citizens be made aware of what happens to materials and substances put into storm drains, and they will be looking for us to demonstrate that we are making a meaningful contribution to stopping pollution. The Town puts a lot of time, effort, and resources into educating the public, but it has not been as effective as we would like. She noted that while some of this can be explained by the fact that there continue to be new citizens coming into the area, but as information advisors we are not where we need to be.
Ms. Moran went on to state that the biennial survey asked citizens to answer questions about emergency preparedness. She explained that based on survey it appears more than half of our community is not prepared with a 3-day emergency kit. She felt that these issues could be significantly impacted with improved communications. She then asked Board members if they had any suggestions for educating citizens more effectively. The following ideas were mentioned:
Community block groups / leaders
Stencils (signs) on drains, perhaps utilize efforts of grassroots organizations to handle
Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts
Hand out environmental information packets at Town-sponsored events
Updating of Citizen’s Guide to Services booklet
Partnership with YMCA communications, newsletters, etc.
Improved e-mail communications from Town – developing a way to choose what e-mail topics you receive
Change to rollout carts was confusing for some – perhaps hard plastic weatherproof tags that stay with the carts and have instructions as well as contact information for Public Works
Ms. Moran explained that the most important concern is reaching the public with issues that create immediate threats to life and health, and this would include traffic and extreme weather. She emphasized that it is important to Council that citizens to know when things are going happen and how and when they can participate in the decision-making process.
The meeting was turned back over to Mr. Evangelista who indicated that the next item on the agenda, Citizen Communications in Planning and Development Issues, will be carried over to the next meeting.
A brief discussion ensued concerning on-line calendars. It was mentioned that Google now has one available gives a great deal of control to the user. Ms. Moran reminded members that the Town of Cary Web site is the only official site for Town business.
Ms. Guzik and Ms. Bravo left at 6:35 p.m.
Comments
a. Statement of Findings
The Biennial Survey results were discussed in greater detail along with ways some of the concerns which have arisen from that can be addressed by looking at new, innovative ways to convey information to Cary residents.
b. Citizen comments
There were no citizen comments.
c. Member comments
There were no additional member comments.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 6:39 p.m.
The next meeting of the ISAB will be held on Thursday, July 6, 2006, at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Large Conference Room #10035, 316 N. Academy Street, Cary.