04_23_09 Meeting Minutes

St. Lawrence County Information Technology Advisory Committee
04/23/09 Meeting Minutes
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Location: 2nd Floor Conference Room, Human Services Center

Laura Perry called the meeting to order at 11:05 p.m.

1. Welcome New Committee Members & Meeting Attendees
Introductions – Present: Pat Turbett, Greg Stahl, Laura Perry, Cheryl Pray, Rick Johnson, Rob Hack, Debbie White, Carman Branca, Helene Mellon, Dan Churchill, Marc Rusch, Jon Montan, Bill Hunter, Dave Wolfe, Carrie Tuttle, Leigh Rodriguez, Francine Peretta.

2. Review/accept minutes from 03/26/09 meeting
The committee made no changes to the 03/26/09 minutes.

3. Presentation: Carmen Branca, New Visions Power Company -
Carmen Branca and Deb White of New Visions Power made a presentation to the committee regarding their current plans for service deployments in New York State. Mr. Branca explained that there is a frustration for lack of availability of broadband in the area. New Visions would be able to deliver broadband with the existing companies that already have it available. New Visions interest in broadband besides internet is dial tone and cable tv and look to deploy this accessibility. They allow to offer throughout the county and can assist with some of the county weaknesses with availability. New Visions is able to turn out a 10 mb connection looking to increase to 20 mb connection but also making it affordable with a range from $25 - $30 per month. They do have an agreement with the utilities to use and eject high speed signals into their grids. Also, to provide a competitive service to areas that already has broadband service. The committee inquired about to Mr. Branca the timeframe to initialize and implement their services. Mr. Branca indicated that the estimated timeframe would be 6 months to initialize and one year to implement.

Following the presentation the committee shared their thoughts and concerns on the presentation and the committee next steps. After further discussion, the committee members present agreed that the company should be further investigated before the committee recommends any form of deployment for St. Lawrence County. Also, to post committee members’ questions or concerns back to Carmen and to see what New Visions is looking for from the county.

4. Presentation of IT Committee’s Final Strategic Plan—Laura inquired to the committee members anyone willing to speak to the Board of Legislators on behalf of the committee in regards to the plan. The plan has to go through the operations committee to be reviewed and agreed upon to be handed out to the next scheduled board meeting for review. The next meeting for the operations committee is scheduled for May 11th at 5:00 p.m. Laura would like to spend time on the presentation prior to the board meeting.

5. Response to Committee’s letter from Service Provider—Laura noted she had discussion with three providers and received only a follow-up email from Paul Barton. Had discussion with Mr. McCoy regarding the recovery act and would relate his comments to the committee. Would the committee like for him to come in to talk to the committee? Laura will contact Mr. McCoy regarding his availability to attend the committee meeting scheduled for May.

Recap of discussions with Four-Lane Highway Working Group—Laura indicated that she did meet with Jason Clark to inform him that the committee was here and willing to assist. He is in the process of formulating his group.

Recap of discussions with Sheriff—Sheriff Wells has expressed concern in regards to the impact of his operation from the noise that they are receiving over their radios. He feels that the redundant noise that is transmitted over the radios could be affecting his radio availability. The committee briefly discussed the Sheriff’s concerns.



Next Meeting: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

IT Meeting Reminder

Just a quick note before the holiday weekend to remind you that the SLC IT Committee will meet on Thursday, May 28, 2009, 2pm – 4pm in the Board of Legislators Meeting Chambers on Court St. in Canton. Please note the alternate location from our regular meeting location!

We are expecting Mr. McCoy from WavHost Networks to offer a discussion on WavHost’s plans relating to broadband expansion in St. Lawrence County and use of Stimulus Funding. We also have great news to share regarding the Strategic Plan and we have lots of new items on the horizon because of that news (ok, I realize I’m tipping my hand a bit). Join us to get the whole scoop.

I look forward to seeing you and hope you all have a safe, and memorable holiday weekend.

RE: [SPAM]Re: Web Survey ?

Laura --

I'd like to suggest that you, me, Ruth and Media Central conference call
on this survey requirement...This will help bring us all up to speed and
is a good starting point for building a relationship with them...If you
agree, perhaps Ruth can arrange the call...

Rob

-----Original Message-----
From: Laura Perry [mailto:laurap@slic.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 12:03 PM
To: rhack@twcny.rr.com; 'Helene Mellon'; 'Elizabeth Graham'; Fountain,
Ray; 'Tom Sauter'; 'Wade A. Davis'; 'SLC IT Blog'; greg@stlawu.edu;
Perretta, Francine; Peck, Don; 'Jennifer French'; Pray, Cheryl; 'Carrie
Tuttle P. E.'; 'Dave Wolf'; Turbett, J. Patrick; 'Marc Rousch'; 'Patti
Fisher'; 'Phil Deleel'; 'Bill Hunter'; Montan, Jon; 'Laurel Goolden';
Johnson, Rick; St. Hilaire, Karen; PhilW@slic.com; 'Kevin Lynch'; 'Pat
McKeown'
Cc: Sevick, Joanne; Cobb, Tedra; Doyle, Ruth; Hack, Rob
Subject: RE: [SPAM]Re: Web Survey ?

Great point Rob.

Ruth - can you let us know your thoughts? Let me know if you want to
talk about this further to get any additional background.

-----Original Message-----
From: rhack@twcny.rr.com [mailto:rhack@twcny.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 11:57 AM
To: 'Helene Mellon'; Elizabeth Graham; Ray Fountain; 'Tom Sauter'; 'Wade
A. Davis'; SLC IT Blog; greg@stlawu.edu; 'Perretta, Francine'; 'Donald
A. Peck (R)'; 'Jennifer French'; Pray, Cheryl; 'Carrie Tuttle P. E.';
Dave Wolf; J. Patrick Turbett; 'Marc Rousch'; 'Patti Fisher'; 'Phil
Deleel'; 'Bill Hunter'; 'Jon Montan'; 'Laurel Goolden'; 'Rick Johnson';
'Karen St. Hilaire'; PhilW@slic.com; Laura Perry; 'Kevin Lynch'; 'Pat
McKeown'
Cc: 'Sevick, Joanne'; 'Tedra Cobb'; rdoyle@stlawco.org;
rhack@stlawco.org
Subject: [SPAM]Re: Web Survey ?

Laura, et al --

I'm thinking we should ask Ruth Doyle, who is currently managing the
website redesign project, to ask Media Central what tool to
recommend...Media Central was selected for the website redesign...

As I'm sure this won't be the last time we will need a survey, I suggest
we make it part of our suite of tools with Media Central...

In the interim as the new site is being built, they could even host this
survey and make it acccessible on the current site...

I have not met Media Central yet - and have just recently begun reading
the RFP and response...

Thoughts, comments?...

Rob

---- Laura Perry <laurap@slic.com> wrote:
> The County is seeking the input and advice from the IT Committee
> regarding an upcoming county wide survey which will seek feedback
> regarding customer service issues related to County services. The
> survey committee is interested in making the survey available on the
> web and on paper - much the same way we conducted our 2008 survey.
> The committee is interested in receiving recommendations on utilizing
> the web to conduct a survey. Using the Allen Tunnel survey tool (the
> online survey the IT Committee used) is an option but that seems to be

> slightly overkill since there is no need to tie responses to a
> geographic location. I'm thinking there is a widely available, and
> low cost web based service that IT Committee folks may have experience

> using. Survey monkey has been tossed out as an example, but not
having used it before I'm not familiar with its capabilities or
limitations.
>
>
>
>
> If you have suggestions on this topic, please offer them up. Thanks!
>
>
>
> -Laura
>
>
>

RE: [SPAM]Re: Web Survey ?

Great point Rob.

Ruth - can you let us know your thoughts? Let me know if you want to talk about this further to get any additional background.

-----Original Message-----
From: rhack@twcny.rr.com [mailto:rhack@twcny.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 11:57 AM
To: 'Helene Mellon'; Elizabeth Graham; Ray Fountain; 'Tom Sauter'; 'Wade A. Davis'; SLC IT Blog; greg@stlawu.edu; 'Perretta, Francine'; 'Donald A. Peck (R)'; 'Jennifer French'; Pray, Cheryl; 'Carrie Tuttle P. E.'; Dave Wolf; J. Patrick Turbett; 'Marc Rousch'; 'Patti Fisher'; 'Phil Deleel'; 'Bill Hunter'; 'Jon Montan'; 'Laurel Goolden'; 'Rick Johnson'; 'Karen St. Hilaire'; PhilW@slic.com; Laura Perry; 'Kevin Lynch'; 'Pat McKeown'
Cc: 'Sevick, Joanne'; 'Tedra Cobb'; rdoyle@stlawco.org; rhack@stlawco.org
Subject: [SPAM]Re: Web Survey ?

Laura, et al --

I'm thinking we should ask Ruth Doyle, who is currently managing the website redesign project, to ask Media Central what tool to recommend...Media Central was selected for the website redesign...

As I'm sure this won't be the last time we will need a survey, I suggest we make it part of our suite of tools with Media Central...

In the interim as the new site is being built, they could even host this survey and make it acccessible on the current site...

I have not met Media Central yet - and have just recently begun reading the RFP and response...

Thoughts, comments?...

Rob

---- Laura Perry <laurap@slic.com> wrote:
> The County is seeking the input and advice from the IT Committee regarding
> an upcoming county wide survey which will seek feedback regarding customer
> service issues related to County services. The survey committee is
> interested in making the survey available on the web and on paper - much the
> same way we conducted our 2008 survey. The committee is interested in
> receiving recommendations on utilizing the web to conduct a survey. Using
> the Allen Tunnel survey tool (the online survey the IT Committee used) is an
> option but that seems to be slightly overkill since there is no need to tie
> responses to a geographic location. I'm thinking there is a widely
> available, and low cost web based service that IT Committee folks may have
> experience using. Survey monkey has been tossed out as an example, but not
> having used it before I'm not familiar with its capabilities or limitations.
>
>
>
>
> If you have suggestions on this topic, please offer them up. Thanks!
>
>
>
> -Laura
>
>
>

Re: Web Survey ?

Laura, et al --

I'm thinking we should ask Ruth Doyle, who is currently managing the website redesign project, to ask Media Central what tool to recommend...Media Central was selected for the website redesign...

As I'm sure this won't be the last time we will need a survey, I suggest we make it part of our suite of tools with Media Central...

In the interim as the new site is being built, they could even host this survey and make it acccessible on the current site...

I have not met Media Central yet - and have just recently begun reading the RFP and response...

Thoughts, comments?...

Rob

---- Laura Perry <laurap@slic.com> wrote:
> The County is seeking the input and advice from the IT Committee regarding
> an upcoming county wide survey which will seek feedback regarding customer
> service issues related to County services. The survey committee is
> interested in making the survey available on the web and on paper - much the
> same way we conducted our 2008 survey. The committee is interested in
> receiving recommendations on utilizing the web to conduct a survey. Using
> the Allen Tunnel survey tool (the online survey the IT Committee used) is an
> option but that seems to be slightly overkill since there is no need to tie
> responses to a geographic location. I'm thinking there is a widely
> available, and low cost web based service that IT Committee folks may have
> experience using. Survey monkey has been tossed out as an example, but not
> having used it before I'm not familiar with its capabilities or limitations.
>
>
>
>
> If you have suggestions on this topic, please offer them up. Thanks!
>
>
>
> -Laura
>
>
>

RE: Web Survey ?

Good Morning,

First of all , let me apologize for being MIA, it’s been quite crazy lately.

 

Would the geographic info be helpful?  Would distance and accessibility to a service be reflected based on where residents live?  Are there services that cover multiple areas, and perhaps serve some areas better than others?

 

Just thoughts… If that’s not important, Survey Monkey seems to be a good tool (we use it hear) and it’s affordable.

 

Kevin

 

 

 

From: Laura Perry [mailto:laurap@slic.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2009 9:29 AM
To: 'Bill Hunter'; 'Carrie Tuttle P. E.'; Dave Wolf; 'Donald A. Peck (R)'; Elizabeth Graham; greg@stlawu.edu; 'Helene Mellon'; J. Patrick Turbett; 'Jennifer French'; 'Jon Montan'; 'Karen St. Hilaire'; Kevin Lynch; 'Laurel Goolden'; 'Marc Rousch'; 'Pat McKeown'; 'Patti Fisher'; 'Perretta, Francine'; 'Phil Deleel'; PhilW@slic.com; Pray, Cheryl; Ray Fountain; 'Rick Johnson'; Rob Hack; SLC IT Blog; 'Tom Sauter'; 'Wade A. Davis'
Cc: 'Sevick, Joanne'; 'Tedra Cobb'
Subject: Web Survey ?

 

The County is seeking the input and advice from the IT Committee regarding an upcoming county wide survey which will seek feedback regarding customer service issues related to County services.  The survey committee is interested in making the survey available on the web and on paper – much the same way we conducted our 2008 survey.  The committee is interested in receiving recommendations on utilizing the web to conduct a survey.  Using the Allen Tunnel survey tool (the online survey the IT Committee used) is an option but that seems to be slightly overkill since there is no need to tie responses to a geographic location.  I’m thinking there is a widely available, and low cost web based service that IT Committee folks may have experience using.  Survey monkey has been tossed out as an example, but not having used it before I’m not familiar with its capabilities or limitations. 

 

If you have suggestions on this topic, please offer them up.  Thanks!

 

-Laura

 

Web Survey ?

The County is seeking the input and advice from the IT Committee regarding an upcoming county wide survey which will seek feedback regarding customer service issues related to County services.  The survey committee is interested in making the survey available on the web and on paper – much the same way we conducted our 2008 survey.  The committee is interested in receiving recommendations on utilizing the web to conduct a survey.  Using the Allen Tunnel survey tool (the online survey the IT Committee used) is an option but that seems to be slightly overkill since there is no need to tie responses to a geographic location.  I’m thinking there is a widely available, and low cost web based service that IT Committee folks may have experience using.  Survey monkey has been tossed out as an example, but not having used it before I’m not familiar with its capabilities or limitations. 

 

If you have suggestions on this topic, please offer them up.  Thanks!

 

-Laura