Information Services Advisory Board
MINUTES
July 5, 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 6:00 p.m.
Present
Mark Evangelista, John Fitzpatrick, John Nolander, Tangie Hofer, Helen Hutchings, Vijay Raghavendran, Council member Julie Robison, Staff Guest Bill Stice, Technology Services Director, Staff Liaisons Susan Moran and Teri Peralta
Absent
Terra Brown-Shelton, Lee Douglas, Nazi Kite, Todd McGee
Approval of Minutes
Mr. Nolander moved to approve the minutes from the June 7, 2007 meeting with the noted correction to attendance. Mr. Fitzpatrick provided the second and the motion carried unanimously.
Watch List: RSS Technology
Ms. Robison asked what the objective was in adding RSS to the watch list. Mr. Evangelista replied that after a lengthy discussion the board agreed to watch for any pertinent technical updates to offer staff.
Watch List: Web Site Overhaul
Mr. Fitzpatrick asked when the board would be informed about the new Web design and be involved in review. Mr. Evangelista reminded him that the board would be passive in this project. Ms. Moran added that while they hope to complete the project in the first quarter of calendar 2008, no date has been established.
Watch List: Traffic Management System Update to Citizens
There were no updates to this item.
Watch List: Dynamic Message Signs
Ms. Moran confirmed that two of the signs remain inoperable.
Watch List: 2007 Annual Report
Mr. Evangelista noted that he would distribute what he has so far with the board via email prior to the next meeting.
Old/New Business
Streaming Video
Guest: Bill Stice, Technology Services Director
Mr. Evangelista introduced Ms. Moran who acknowledged continued interest by the board and Ms. Robison in the subject of streaming video, noting that since the last time the ISAB addressed this topic the Town has added videotaped council meetings to the Web site. She noted that an increase from about 40-70 visits to the audio files to around 150-250 regular visits to the video files has been observed. Ms. Moran added that while this was a substantial percentage increase, it was less significant when compared to visits to other files on the Web site. She also stated that fewer DVD copies of the meetings are needed as citizens can now be directed to the Web site to view the videos. Ms. Moran then introduced Mr. Stice to answer questions from the board.
In response to several questions, Mr. Stice explained that live council and committee meetings are video recorded and those recordings are converted to Web video, currently they are set up as one continuous file with no indexing. Mr. Fitzpatrick observed that although council meetings are recorded non-verbatim, they are at least indexed by use of the search engine and he suggested that perhaps the verbatim recordings could be indexed somehow. After further discussion it was apparent this would entail too much staff time to be effective. Mr. Stice noted that video recordints are generally available online within 24 to 48 hours of a meeting and added that RealPlayer is used because for quite some time it was the market leader and it continues to be too labor-intensive to use multiple formats.
Mr. Stice said that there are three options available for getting recordings of meetings on the Web, each with different costs and different bandwidth requirements. He explained that a downloaded video file, which is what the Town uses now, requires the video file to be completely downloaded onto the viewer’s computer before it can be viewed, whereas a streaming video can be viewed as fast as the viewer’s computer is able download the file, and live streaming is a live feed which the viewer sees as it occurs, very close to real time.
Mr. Stice then stated that there are various software packages available that allow video files to be indexed and that these vary in price. He noted that these would only work on streaming video or downloaded video files, since a live feed does not require indexing. He informed the board that staff has looked at several products that automatically create the stream, but so far have not found anything that is cost effective for the features they need.
Mr. Stice explained that the last product evaluated was Granicus with an initial cost of about $40,000 and an additional $1,000 per month to maintain. The product includes storage and requires additional bandwidth because live video streaming sets up one-on-one sessions with however many individuals are viewing the feed simultaneously. He also noted that with live streaming there is the possibility of degradation if there’s not enough bandwidth, the server is slow, or if the equipment can’t keep up with the download. He also explained that the resolution can be set for the size and speed of the video stream and that the cost varies based on the number of concurrent sessions, the quality of the video produced and how long or large files are. He stated that the cost would increase with additional sessions and/or increased bandwidth, noting that there would have to be a lot of traffic to justify additional bandwidth.
Mr. Nolander asked if any degradation to Web performance has been seen experienced since the video files have been added to the Web site. Mr. Stice said it has not because the server is managed offsite and the Town’s content has very little impact on the host’s overall capacity.
Mr. Evangelista asked if there is a market for real time viewing of the council meetings, and Ms. Moran stated that there is no survey information indicating a need, but that the question has not been asked either. Ms. Robison noted that while live streaming video may be a future trend, she did not see compelling reason to pursue it at this time because the meetings are currently accessible by citizens. She went on to explain that her interest in the topic was more aligned with accessing archived video recordings of the council meetings, adding that it would be ideal if they could be indexed as well.
Ms. Moran observed that one thing that sets Cary apart from nearby communities who have chosen to use Granicus for live streaming video is that since 1997 Cary has been paperless with our agendas, putting our agendas and staff reports all on the Web. She went on to say that these other communities have continued to use a paper system and now need a company like Granicus that can guide them into a paperless system. Ms. Robison agreed stating that municipalities that have relied on paper for all their public materials have a need for a something like Granicus that can do everything at once.
Mr. Stice observed that for communities that use Granicus, streaming video is just an add-on to a more complete package than Cary would need. Ms. Moran mentioned that when Granicus came to make a presentation to the Town, Ms. Rowland observed that staff was already doing many of the things the product could do. Ms. Moran added indicated that only thing the Granicus product offered that wasn’t already being done by staff was the indexing of the video. Mr. Stice explained that if the indexing is not done live staff would have to sit through each meeting from beginning to end to create the indexing, and Ms. Moran added that it would not be feasible for this task to be added to staff workload during the taping of the meeting. She also observed that when reviewing the videos on the Web it is not difficult or time consuming to use the slide bar to hear specific sections of the meeting.
Mr. Stice indicated that more is involved in indexing a video recording than just pushing a button at a specific time. He explained that it has to be embedded into the agenda and would likely distract staff during the taping of the meeting. Ms. Moran stated that the Town is appropriately staffed for the current workload but adding to what they already do during a live meeting would jeopardize the accurate recording of a meeting, so staff would have to do the indexing after the meeting.
Ms. Hofer observed that it did not seem like there was really a demand for live video streaming, stating that downloaded video seems to be meeting the needs of the citizens. Mr. Evangelista agreed that the board would need to decide if they really felt this was in the public interest and asked if members were pleased with the videos as they are on the Web now. Ms. Hofer indicated that because she has DirectTV and does not get Cary TV 11 she likes being able to see the meetings online. Others agreed that it was sufficient, and Ms. Robison added that the indexing would just be an added convenience.
Ms. Moran reminded the board that staff is continuing to look for just the right software that will index the meetings without the added cost of unnecessary bundled software. Mr. Evangelista asked that the board be informed of any progress made in this endeavor. Mr. Stice explained that staff is also in the process of looking for a content management software package to increase the efficiency of staff in managing existing content on the Web, noting that it’s possible that such software might also include the indexing feature. He explained that they are also looking for software that addresses conversion to other formats such as Quicktime and Media Player.
Mr. Evangelista thanked Mr. Stice for making himself available to answer questions and reminded the board that the next meeting would consider the subject of Document Format Standardization including open source code and document retention.
Statement of Findings
The board found great value in having video recordings of the council and committee meetings available on the Town’s Web site and learned about the different formats of video and streaming video available and the value both, absolutely and relative to costs of implementation. Mr. Fitzpatrick added that the topic is also an important consideration while the Web site is undergoing redesign. Mr. Stice stated that if a cost effective indexing method could be found, he felt it would be worthwhile to consider it.
Member Comments
There were no member comments.
Citizen Comments
Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that someone contacted him to say they saw a contractor on Lake Pine Drive installing fiber with junctions at every residence and asked what he knew about it. Mr. Fitzpatrick told him he didn’t know what it was. Ms. Moran replied that it was not a Town project.
Ms. Robison indicated that she has been receiving positive feedback from neighbors concerning holiday trash pickup notification.
Mr. Evangelista noted that he received additional criticism regarding RailHawks public service announcements. Ms. Moran reiterated that the Town currently does not have the technological capability to categorize email distribution, adding that the Town and the community have a direct financial interest in the success of RailHawks.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 7:42 p.m.