Information Services Advisory Board
MINUTES
Thursday, October 19, 2005
Temporary Council Chambers
Herbert C. Young Community Center
101 Wilkinson Avenue, Cary, North Carolina
1. Call to Order
Chair Jo Rathgeber called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
2. Introduction of Members
Present: Jamie Cuticchia, Donna Bravo, Dean Smith, Mark Evangelista, Jo Rathgeber, John Fitzpatrick, Lee Douglas, and Steve Del Verde.
Absent: Dayna Guzik
Council member Julie Robison and staff member Susan Moran were also present.
3. Approval of Minutes
The board unanimously approved the September 1, 2005, minutes as presented.
4. Old/New Business
a. Annual Report
Chair Jo Rathgeber asked members to share their comments on the Board’s draft Annual Report. The members thanked her for writing the draft and offered no changes. Susan Moran asked that the reference to “public” access channel be changed to “government” access channel.
Chair Rathgeber said that she would revise the report to reflect any action taken during this meeting and e-mail it to Susan Moran to have Ms. Moran prepare it for adoption by the Board at its November meeting so that Ms. Moran can transmit the report to the Town Clerk’s Office the following day.
b. Increasing Citizen Attendance at Public Meetings
Public Information Officer Susan Moran began discussion of this agenda item by outlining what efforts the Town currently uses to encourage citizens to attend public meetings, including but not limited to: direct mail letters and postcards, e-mails, advertising in the Cary News, and messages on the Cary TV 11 bulletin board. Ms. Moran explained that while the Town worked hard to get citizen involvement and input on projects early on, it often happened that citizens didn’t get involved until very late in the process, generally when they were unhappy with some aspect of the project.
The Board discussed the benefits of utilizing homeowners’ associations to help generate attendance and the continuing need to have a point person in the Town create and maintain a comprehensive contact list of these groups. The Board noted that its suggestion of a neighborhood registry had been denied in past budget recommendations.
A lengthy discussion ensued regarding how some citizens feel when they do get involved and the Town does not act consistently with their wishes. Mr. Smith stated that he feels many people are discouraged and have the perception that their involvement doesn’t matter. He felt strongly that this negative perception must be addressed.
Chair Rathgeber suggested that agenda for such meetings be added to the Web site in the THIS WEEK section. Mr. Fitzpatrick followed with a suggestion that links to such agenda should be available on the events calendar. Ms. Bravo raised the idea of using RSS feeds to reach more people. Mr. Douglas advocated for the Town to begin collecting and maintaining e-mail addresses of all citizens with whom staff comes in contact.
According to Mr. Evangelista, there are two primary questions:
1. Are we getting information about the meetings to our citizens?
2. How do you motivate them to attend?
As an example of 2, Mr. Evangelista said that while it may be a good idea, very few people go Christmas shopping in September; they wait until the last minute. He said that immediacy may be the driving factor, and if that were the case, they (citizens) simply were not going to go to meetings early in the process.
Mr. Smith reiterated his concerns about citizens’ feeling like their input is not taken seriously.
Ms. Bravo said that citizens will participate late in the process and when they perceive the project negatively.
Ms. Moran asked the members to give the topic further thought in the coming weeks and to bring ideas to the table for discussion at the November meeting.
c. Wi-Fi Update
Noting the number of e-mails shared on this topic over the last month, Chair Rathgeber asked Ms. Moran to update the Board on recent relevant activities. Ms. Moran stated that the Town’s Economic Development Commission had briefly discussed wireless communications at its October meeting and expressed an interest in taking the item off of the table. She also told the Board about a private company that had been working with the Town to evaluate wireless clouds for the community. She noted that the group had decided not to move forward. Finally, Ms. Moran informed the Board of her intent to include wireless service questions on the 2006 Biennial Survey to assess citizen interest in and support of publicly funded wireless services.
Mr. Fitzpatrick stated that he thought the Town should consider using Wi-Fi for emergencies and disasters. Ms. Moran said that the Town would prefer using low power FM, not wireless, if it chose to pursue such activities.
Ms. Bravo asked for a list of benefits to be read during the survey prior to any questions being asked about wireless, but Ms. Moran stated that that would likely bias the findings, and the amount of time allowed for the survey would not support doing so. Ms. Bravos statements were:
Wi-Fi technology allows for faster, more efficient and less expensive construction and maintenance of broadband access networks than wired connections. In addition, communities have discovered economic, social and educational opportunities in Wi-Fi with benefits including:
§ Universal, affordable wireless broadband access throughout communities, including those who could not previously afford access;
§ Streamlined, less expensive interaction between government and citizens;
§ Enhanced communication between teachers, students and parents;
§ Stimulated competition amongst broadband service providers – eventually leading to reduced costs for network services within a community;
§ Continuity of service in the event of a network provider breach of contract or dispute between domain providers;
§ Improved public safety through better communications and interoperability;
§ Enhanced healthcare access through online remote patient care;
§ Increased positive opinion of the community by visitors, especially business travelers;
§ Reduced existing and anticipated government telecommunications costs;
§ Promotion of the community’s image as progressive and enlightened; and,
§ Provided backup and contingency measures for disaster response and recovery.
After a spirited and lengthy discussion which included Ms. Bravo suggesting the Board create an RFP for town-wide Wi-Fi, the Board voted 7-1 to recommend to the Town Council that the Council direct its Economic Development Commission to take the topic of public Wi-Fi off the table, take action, and report back to the Council.
The members then asked Ms. Moran to clarify how Ms. Robison could take the issue directly to Council, to which Ms. Moran informed the Board that Ms. Robison could do so at any time as long as she had one other Council member co-sign the “pink sheet”.
5. Comments
a. Statement of Findings
The group received information from the Public Information Officer regarding citizen attendance at public meetings. The Board is to return next month with thoughts on how the Town might increase attendance.
b. Citizen comments
There were no citizen comments turned in for discussion.
c. Member comments
The members would appreciate continuing to receive “quorum call” e-mails prior to each meeting.
Mr. Fitzpatrick asked for an update on staff’s thoughts concerning a new Web calendar and an overhaul of the Town’s Web site to a more interactive and user-friendly format. Ms. Moran responded that the Web calendar item would be in her proposed budget, but no other plans were currently underway to change the Web site.
6. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 6:46 p.m.
The next meeting of the ISAB will be held on Thursday, November 3, 2005, at 5:30 p.m. in the Temporary Council Chambers, Herb Young Community Center, 101 Wilkinson Avenue.
For questions about these minutes, please contact Susan Moran, Public Information Officer, at (919) 460-4951 or susan.moran@townofcary.org. Visit our Web site at www.townofcary.org for more detailed information about each item in the minutes.
The Town of Cary is committed to providing all citizens with the opportunity to participate fully in the public meeting process. Any person with a disability who needs an auxiliary aid or service in order to participate in any meeting may contact the Town Clerk at least 48 hours prior to the meeting. The e-mail address is sue.rowland@townofcary.org; the phone number is (919) 469-4011; the TDD number is (919) 469-4012.