I.

Introduction of Members:

Members present: Jo Rathgeber, Kelly Commiskey, Jamie Cuticchia, Michelle Hillison, Dean Smith, Fred Woolard, Robert Keely and John Fitzpatrick. Members absent: Dana Ellington and Eugene Murray.  

Council Member Julie Robison was present.  

Staff members Bill Stice and Roger May were present.

II.

Approval of Minutes:

The board requested that additional information be added to the July 1, 2004 minutes before the September meeting.

III.

Citizen Comments:

Chair Jo Rathgeber noted that residents of Ravenstone, though opposed to the proposed connection, felt well-informed about the process.

IV.

Old/New Business:

1. Technology Services Director Bill Stice was present to talk with the Board about virtual meetings and chats. Following are some of the key points of his presentation and questions/comments from the Board:  

Threaded Discussions

- Who managed content of the pilot threaded discussion? Mr. UIma’s staff managed content and Town staff didn’t have to pull anything offline.

- Eliminating certain percentage of Cary residents, those without internet access.

- Does this provide equal access to everyone? No.

- Overall, it is quite possible to implement threaded discussions throughout the Town’s communications program.

- Who wrote the program? Mr. Stice wrote the pilot program in-house.

- What’s the legal opinion on censorship in threaded discussions? Neither the Public Information Officer nor Town Attorney was present to address this question.

- Was the pilot threaded discussion retained for public record? Not sure, but will check.

- How many citizens participated in the initial threaded discussion? Not sure, but will check.

- Did participants offer feedback? Yes, part of Envision Cary survey inquired about this.

- How do we know an appropriate comment wasn’t removed? We don’t feel staff would remove appropriate comments.

- Perhaps the Town should consider an ombudsman or a dedicated Town staff member to monitor threaded discussions.  

On-line Chats

- Can on-line chats be wired into Channel 11? Yes, at significant cost.

- Don’t want to replace face-to-face meetings.

- Third-party on-line conference call: cheaper, less infrastructure.

- Chat versus email – email currently exists; chat would require new software/programs.

- Want to insure the integrity of focused, centered discussions.

- Can we do text to speech conversion? Yes, however bandwidth troubles may result.  

After lengthy discussion, the Board decided to draft and develop a statement to ask Council/staff to review the issue of virtual meetings and chats further and to individually bring draft statements to the September 2 meeting and then the Board will collectively form a motion to execute this item.  

Council Member Robison noted than an additional tool to facilitate communication between citizens and Council was to develop a short statement for a staff report from Susan Moran to the Town’s Operations Committee. Ms. Robison also noted that the Board need not feel limited to reporting to Council annually, but rather consider reporting quarterly or biannually if the need arises.

V.

Member Comments:

Ms. Commiskey suggested that the Town consider holding a candidate forum similar to the one held for Town Council candidates for candidates of the state senate, state house, county commission, etc., via Cary TV 11. Ms. Robison suggested Ms. Commiskey attend a Cary Chamber of Commerce “eye-opener” breakfast and pitch the idea to the Chamber.

VI.

Adjournment:

The meeting adjourned at 6:55 p.m.

VII.

Next ISAB Meeting:

The next ISAB meeting will be held on Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 5:30 p.m. in the Temporary Council Chambers at the Herb Young Community Center , 101 Wilkinson Avenue , Cary .