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Home My WebLink AboutMN-CES-2007-05-09 Communications & Emergency Services Regular Meeting May 9, 2007 7:00 p.m. PRESENT: Chair J. R. Clairborne Alderpersons (4) Michelle Berry, David Gelinas, Shane Seger, Robin Korherr OTHERS PRESENT: City Clerk— Julie Conley Holcomb Director of Information Technology— Duane Twardolus Fire Chief— Brian Wilbur Information Management Specialist - Cindie Day ADDITIONS TO OR DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA: Alderperson Korherr requested the addition of a report from the Fire Commissioners. Chair Clairborne requested that Items 6 and 7 be reversed on the agenda for tonight's meeting. No Committee members objected. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Approval of the minutes of the April 11, 2007 meeting By Alderperson Korherr: Seconded by Alderperson Gelinas: RESOLVED, that the minutes of the April 11, 2007 meeting be approved as published. CARRIED UNAIMOUSLY UPDATES: ICS 402 Training City Clerk Julie Holcomb announced that the Common Council ICS 402 Training is scheduled for May 23, 2007 from 6:00 — 8:00 pm. The training will include the role that executives have in an emergency situation and the responsibilities of staff, how the incident Command System is structured, and the definition of commonly used terms. May 4, 2007/End-of-School-Year Activities on Local Campuses: Fire Chief Brian Wilbur reported that the year-end campus activities that were held on South Hill and East Hill were orderly and peaceful for the most part. He stated that the students were well behaved and that the crowds died down towards early evening. The Fire Department averaged $4,000.00 in overtime costs and will recoup $1,000.00 from Cornell University. He stated that he felt that the City should consider amending the existing special Event Planning Program to include events such as these that require the use of City resources. These events don't currently qualify as they take place on private property. Alderperson Korherr agreed to draft a letter to Cornell University and Ithaca College to inform them that the year end College events stress the City's resources and to request that events are well thought out and planned and that future events are not scheduled the same day. PEG ACCESS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Alderperson Shane Seger reported that the PEG Access Studio budget needs to be approved by the end of June 2007 pursuant to the Cable Franchise Agreement. The proposed budget does not include funding for wireless microphones for Common Council Chamber as there is a sum of$130,000.00+ remaining in the account at Time Warner from the previous franchise agreement. The previous franchise agreement was in place prior to the PEG Access committee so they do not have the ability to authorize the release of funds and Time Warner has stated that the purchase microphones is not an eligible expense. Time Warner is controlling the spending of these funds when the money was collected from the subscribers for the purpose of the PEG Access. It was suggested that representatives from PEG Access, Time Warner the City Attorney, Chair of the Access Committee come to a future meeting to discuss this issue. Resolution to Adopt 2008 PEG Access Studio Capital Budget By Alderperson Seger: Seconded By Alderperson Berry Whereas, the Franchise Agreement between Time Warner Entertainment and the City of Ithaca signed in 2003 authorizes Time Warner Entertainment to collect $0.15 per subscriber per month to be used for the purchase of equipment for the PEG Access Studio; and Whereas, the total capital budget for the life of the ten-year agreement was estimated to be $200,000; Whereas, the Franchise Agreement outlines the creation of an Access Oversight Committee which shall be responsible for approving the timing, use and amount of PEG access equipment acquired each year over the term of the agreement; and Whereas, the Access Oversight Committee has approved a 2008 capital budget in the amount of$39,270; and Whereas, the Franchise Agreement states that participating municipalities, including the City of Ithaca, must adopt the annual PEG Access Studio budget by June 30 of the preceding year; now therefore be it RESOLVED, that Common Council adopts the 2008 PEG Access Studio budget as approved by the Access Oversight Committee. 2008 Access Capital Budget Proposal Playback Replace Audio Preview Amplifier $400 Replace ch 13 Time Base Corrector $1, 500 Editing Replace Time Base Corrector $1, 500 Portable Digital Field Switcher Kit $4, 000 [Focus MXDV4 Kit] Purchase wireless Handheld mic kit $400 Purchase replacement SVHS and XLR cables $200 Purchase mountable light systems And batteries for camcorders $1, 400 Studio Purchase video projector and screen $3 , 000 Replace Time Base Corrector $1, 500 Replace several 13" monitors $1, 000 Replace Audio Preview Amplifier $400 Off-Site : LACS Purchase 3 Sony EVI-D70 Cameras $2 , 500 wall mounts and cables- $500 Purchase DVD recorder $400 Transfer old mobile studio unit to LACS $0 Off-Site : County Purchase basic computer / monitor For digital meeting playback $1, 000 Transfer a tripod with bad LANC jack from PEGASYS $0 Transfer 2 9" color monitors from PEGASYS $0 Off-Site : Coop Extension Purchase 2 Mini DV Camcorders / batteries $2 , 000 Transfer a Mini-T switcher from PEGASYS $0 Transfer a record VCR from PEGASYS $0 Off-Site : ICSD Purchase Wireless Mic System $12 , 000 Purchase 16-input audio mixer and XLR cables $2 , 000 Subtotal $35, 700 Add 10% tx/frt $39, 270 Carried Unanimously REPORT FROM FIRE COMMISSIONERS: Alderperson Korherr noted the recent article in The Ithaca Journal regarding a resolution adopted by the Board of Fire Commissioners regarding their opposition to the proposed Cayuga Waterfront Trail extension. She noted that the adoption of this Resolution may have been in violation of the Open Meetings Law. She further explained that the Board is concerned about public safety and emergency vehicle access as it pertains to the use of an existing traffic lane on W. Buffalo Street. The Board of Fire Commissioner's will revisit this issue at their June 12, 2007 meeting and Alderperson Korherr requested the ability to add this item to the Committee's agenda for June 13, 2007. SPECIAL PRESENTATION — Public Information Officer Team: E-GOV LINK IT Director Duane Twardokus made a presentation to the committee on the concepts of E-Gov (Electronic Government Services) He noted that most e-gov initiatives include the following functions: Web-based Calendaring E-Mail Subscription Service Electronic Document Management Citizen Request Management IT Director Duane Twardokus explained the advantages of each of the components, as well as the resources that would be needed to make this initiative successful. He noted that these tools could improve staff efficiency, however it could also magnify areas where the City has weaknesses. He stressed the importance of having processes and policies in place that address these operations. He voiced his concerns about the community expectations that maybe raised. He explained that it could take 3-5 years to properly roll-out an e-gov inititiative which includes process/policy development software selection and purchase, and employee training. Committee members shared their views on how useful an e-gov program could be, but felt 3 — 5 years was too long time for it to be put in place. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. knate 'bcti Cindie L. Day . '. Clairborne Information Management Specialist Chair .f_ rvv.3 What is E-Gov? , , .-.v.">,... „,.3,:%,,,t.r,M'i;*&; tip ,, „ : • E-gov stands for"electronic i . , government services" .°_ . ° ' ° .4 ■ Electronic government services D'agne Twardo ifsx°: provide citizens with 24/7 Director IT' access to City government. djfi a' rTypes of E-Gov services Calendaring • Calendaring ,, •Value: a single location to post • Subscription Service u r scheduled activities of interest to t p e the community, including • Electronic documents recurring events. ■ Online payments " • Requirement for success:a • Citizen Request Management V person or team accountable for • Surveys handling the process of getting • FAQ's(frequently asked pertinent information posted in a questions) timely manner. p Calendaring, continued Subscription Service • Risks to effectiveness •Value: provides citizens a °, , •Current staff may not have the means to receive time available to fulfill the ccommunications from the City requirements. via e-mail. •Would require coordinating two ''' •Covers various topics. V calendars,an internal one •Public signs up for topics that (GroupWise)and an external one ' .. interest them. (online resource). �i °w"°' •For each topic,new submissions are automatically e-mailed to subscribers ¢ •Available 24/7/365. 1 Subscription Service, Electronic Document continued Management 'kilt • Requirement for success: a , • Value:provides public access to = person or team accountable for p documents 24/7/365. /, •Web pages can link to individual submitting pertinent information _r in a timely manner. documents. • Requirements for success:a person ■ Risk to effectiveness: Current or team accountable for posting 4 • staff may not have the time documents in a timely manner. available to fulfill the •Would need policies to determine requirements. criteria for what can be posted. r • Must remove expired items in a timely manner to avoid cluttering. 9 Electronic Document Citizen Request Management Management, continued • Risks to effectiveness ■Value: provides citizens ability to - •Current staff may not have the a, submit requests for service ;a 4. time available to fulfill the s 24/7/365. requirements. •Issues a receipt with tracking number via e-mail. •Lack of time to manage contents .Routes request to responsible could result in a cluttered resource • party via e-mail. which would dilute its effectiveness. •Can set automatic reminders. •Maintains a log on progress towards completing each work * order. Citizen Request Management, Citizen Request Management, continued continued ,,. • Requirements for success , ..1, • Risks to effectiveness • s •A person or team accountable •Current staff may not have the time Lti for tracking responses to .' `" available to manage the process requests in a timely manner. effectively. "• •Input requests made via other .. •Combination with internal work order means(phone,e-mail,walk-in) systems could lead to confusion. V, for consistent management. •Resistance to change. •Policies about appropriate •Appearance of micro-management. submissions. • Misalignment between public •Modifications to current standard expectations and our ability to respond. operating procedures. +�, 2 r4 An Example of the Benefits � Benefits, continued ,,,, • Integrated E-Gov services ••A few months before the event, z coordinate and streamline ° ' the subscription service issues a -,x timed notice to all registrants a "; a 3 processes. 7, about the upcoming festival. ,, ■ Ithaca Festival '441111111r " •A potential vendor registered to •Occurs every 1St weekend in June. the service receives the notice. ' tii01' •On the electronic calendar,the Another potential vendor not festival is entered as a recurring registered to the service finds the event. event on the calendar. E Benefits, continued Benefits, continued •Within the calendar entry,the •In the online payment section,the , vendors find a link to electronic vendors pay their registration fees documentation that describes ' using either a credit card or a vendor registration requirements, / service such as PayPal. and another link to the online "4 •A month before the festival,the registration forms. calendar sends a notice to DPW •When they complete the alerting them to make registration form,they see a link to preparations. the online payment section. - Benefits, continued Benefits, continued •A DPW staff member enters work , _.- •The DPW supervisors use the orders in the Citizen Request Citizen Request Management '- ' ° Management(CRM)system for '_ 4 (CRM)system to track the ,i„ resources required for the festival. performance of their teams in , •The CRM routes each work order preparing for the festival. to the responsible party with •The CRM issues timed alerts as ,v,- appropriate deadlines. •Each responsible party submits the deadline for the festival draws updates on their progress in near. completing their work orders. 3 Fr"--wIt Benefits, continued •A few days after the festival,the . '`' ; ! A* City issues an electronic survey to ` �,. vq ': b G 9 a. ' y.k 'ss s vendors and citizens for in ` about their experience with the U is a �� gi festival. •Festival organizers can review but not a4par�a a responses to the survey in Excel ' or i �e,� . yeareparation another electronic for the following ' s .k 6 .�` o c ,....,_ _ .• 4