Meeting Agenda 02_28_08

St. Lawrence County
Information Technology Advisory Committee
Meeting Agenda
2/28/08, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority, Ogdensburg, New York
(driving directions forthcoming)

1) 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Subcommittee’s will meet

2) 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Full Committee to convene

a. Welcome New Committee Members & Meeting Attendees

b. Review/accept minutes from 1/24/07 meeting

c. Subcommittee Reports:
G1 - Strategic Plan for Universal Broadband Coverage
G2 - Broadband Access Map to Establish Baseline & Target Areas
G3 - Grant Funding for Broadband Initiatives
G4 - SLC Government Technology Projects

Old Business:


New Business:
Review of County’s Computer Hardware Procurement Policy
Review of WavHost’s request for attachment at the County’s transfer station

Questions & Discussion

Action Items for Next Meeting

Next Meeting: March 27, 2 pm – 4 pm @ Claxton Hepburn Hospital, Ogd.

05-22-08 Meeting Minutes

St. Lawrence County
Information Technology Advisory Committee
May 22, 2008, 2pm
Location:2nd Fl Conf Rm, Public Safety Bldg, Canton, NY

Meeting Minutes

Present: Sign in sheet handed out (Laura Perry has on file)

Attendees discussed details related to the upcoming strategic planning event.

• The group decided to include 70-80 attendees total for this initial event.
• The event will be July 24, 9am – 4pm.
• The group decided there would be a facilitator for each of the sessions, provided by members of the committee.
• Committee members were asked to forward addresses to Kevin Lynch of potentially interested attendees of our workshop. Deadline June 3rd.
• The following industry sectors were mentioned:
  Small Business – LJP to contact Chamber representatives, Brenda Thornton, Pat McGowen
  Higher Education – G Stahl to forward info
  K-12 Education – H Mellon to forward
  Hospitals – P Deleel to forward
  Agriculture – LJP to contact Cornell Coop Ext
  Local Gov – LJP to get list
  Industry – LJP to ask Wade Davis for contact list
  NNY Library – LJP to forward contact
  Community Service Organization – ex.) Leave a Legacy Foundation, LJP to forward fuel assistance partner org contacts
  Media –
  Carriers -
• LJP suggested that CITEC be approached to provide registration services, committee agreed to pursue
• The committee discussed ideas regarding the Opening Session. The group talked about Joe Demart offering some opening comments, as well as LJP offering some comments to demonstrate the work of the committee, the results of the survey, and the role of the participants of the workshop.

Laura Perry and Rick Johnson provided a presentation of the Broadband Survey Map. The group offered suggestions for changes in presentation. Suggestions included turning off town roads, including a population gradiant component and questions about how it would be posted on-line.

Under New Business LJP brought up the issue of communities dealing with private carriers in negotiating use of municipal facilities. Referencing an article (see attached) that mentioned the departure of a prospective company as a result of perceived anti-business tactics of the local communities. The group discussed whether or not the committee had a role in aiding local communities in dealing with this issue. It was the consensus of the group that the committee should play a role, and it was decided that it should look into ways other communities have dealt with this issue. It was suggested that we locate agreements that other municipalities have used successfully in negotiating arrangements. Ideas for sources that were noted were Connect Kentucky, NYSAC, Planning Board, Ontario County’s Broadband Coalition. Some of the items these agreements should deal with are: deliverables for the carrier, revenue, exclusivity, spectrum, and time line.

LJP discussed the fact that she was invited to speak at the local gov conf in Oct ’08. The committee agreed that a presentation on some recommendations for negotiating with carriers would be an appropriate focus for the discussion. Research and discussion on this to follow.

Other Items:
It was suggested we speak with Howard Lowe, as the north country’s rep on the state’s Broadband Initiative. LJP to contact.

Kevin Lynch inquired where SLC was with NY Alert. LJP to ask Mike Wassis.

04-24-08 Meeting Minutes

Information and Technology Meeting
April 24, 2008
SLU

Members present: Francine Perretta, Greg Stahl, Carrie Tuttle, Patrick Turbet, Phil Deleel, Jennifer French, Jon Montan

Minutes approved. Motion by Greg seconded by Phil.
Greg Stahl gave an update on what’s going on at SLU:

• SLU is rolling out all new computers in June and July. They have leased 1600 Dell’s with Vista. They do this every 3-4 years. The old computers are removed by a company who meets EPA regulations for disposal of hazardous waste.
• There was a discussion about the possibility of rebuilding PC’s and giving them to disadvantaged families. There were a number of issues discussed such as PC’s with no software or issues if they break down. Possibility of using high school classes to rebuilds PC’s. St. Lawrence Central has such a program.
• SLU is deploying more wireless out this summer. They will have the whole campus wireless by next summer.
• A new voice mail system is being mobilized on May 12th.
• New students can purchase PC’a through bookstore and they will be set up for them when they arrive on campus
• There are a number of challenges
  o Network storage is never enough
  o Getting students to use secure wireless

Subcommittee reports:

G-1 Strategic Planning: Carrie reported about the workshop invitation letter. The workshop is set for May 22 at Barben Hall at Clarkson. A detailed list of stakeholders was attached to the minutes. The letter will also include a paragraph about the mission of the committee. County will mail out the letter when it is finalized. Chamber will assist with business participants. Committee members will get assignments for that day.

G-2 Access Map: Jon reported that the survey is done at the end of April. We have had 400 paper responses and possibly 1500-2000 overall responses to date. We should have results to look at in May.

G-3 Grant Funding: no report

G-4: SLC Government Projects: Francine reported that phone system was delayed for 1 week but everyone has been trained and phones are on desks. The website RFP’s are in and interviews conducted. Recommendation will be made to BOL on May12th. WAN RFP are in and final approval to finance on 4/28. IT position will be discussed by BOL on 4/28/08.

Old Business:

• 315 area code needs further discussion

New Business:

• Pat discussed the possibility of a shared services grant for IT services with towns and villages. Everyone thought this was a good idea.
• Pat attended a health care planning meeting at Fort Drum to discuss mental health impacts. They discussed telepsychiatry.

Next meeting is May 22 at the planning day. The next meeting after that is June 26th. Location to be decided.

Submitted by:
Francine Perretta

April Meeting Announcement

Full IT Committee to Meet

When: Thursday, April 24th, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Where: Monaco Conference Room (room 242) in the student center, St. Lawrence University, Canton
Host: Greg Stahl of SLU – he has invited SLU’s Co-CIO to say a few words about the technology challenges they face
Meeting Chair: Francine Perretta

03-27-08 Meeting Minutes

St. Lawrence County
Information Technology Advisory Committee
March 27, 2008, 2:00 pm
Location: Claxton Hepburn Hospital, Ogdensburg, NY

Meeting Minutes

Present: Sign in sheet handed out (Laura Perry has on file)

1. Phil Deleel called meeting to order at 2:05 pm.
2. Marc Rousch made a motion, seconded by Greg Stahl, to accept meeting minutes from the 2/28/08 meeting. Motion passed.
3. Mark Webster, CEO of Claxton Hepburn joined the meeting. The group made brief introductions. Mr. Webster provided a discussion on his perspective of technology issues at the hospital. He gave a brief outline of how the healthcare industry works and some of the challenges for implementing the new technology.
· Healthcare is a growing industry. Hospitals function on very tight margins. As a regulated entity, they can’t control pricing. As a non-profit, they are required to serve the public (even uninsured). Hospitals in NYS are ranked in the bottom 2 for profitability among all 50 states.
· Healthcare is a big user of technology. In the last 10 years, technology has reached into the clinical side of healthcare.
· One challenge for adopting new technology has to do with the dichotomy of interests among the hospital’s potential user group. More senior doctors are resistant to new technology, while newer doctors demand more advanced technologies.
· Another challenge for investing in new technology is that it is hard to identify a ROI. When investments in IT compete with other capital investments, it is difficult to prove that the technology will drive the bottom line.
· Claxton Hepburn has 849 employees, and a $42m annual payroll.
· The committee thanked Mr. Webster for sharing his time and insights.

4. Subcommittee Report:
Strategic Plan for Universal Broadband Coverage – Laura provided a report on the subcommittee’s progress to date. The subcommittee (C Tuttle, K Lynch & L Perry (P Wagschal-absent)) met 3/17/08. The subcommittee reviewed the Meade County strategic plan. The group identified a need to produce a comprehensive document such as the one for Meade County, but also identified a need to move forward while such a document is being produced. In an attempt to gather data to be used for an interim plan, the subcommittee is recommending the IT Committee host a one-day work session in which representatives of the County’s stakeholders sit down to discuss what their needs are and how the county committee might serve those needs. A draft list of the stakeholders are attached to these minutes.

The following are the reactions and recommendations from members of the IT Committee:
· Overall the group gave a very positive response to the idea and the initiative.
· How many people did we anticipate? Ans. 30-50.
· Recommendation to gather a diverse group of stakeholders – both across disciplines and geography. Definitely should try to include representation from as many Towns as possible.
· Question of whether we should host more than one session – so to best include the broad spectrum of needs due to the geographic size of our County.
· Recommendation for the invitation to include a description of what our expectations are for them. This is to maximize the productivity of this one day session. We should encourage them to think about what we are going to ask of them for input and information during the session. By giving invitees this heads up, they may do a little fact finding in their own organizations prior to attending the session and bring that information with them to the meeting.
· Other thoughts on the content of the day:
Morning session should include:
· a brief overview of the IT Committee, including the value of the committee, examples of successful projects, and the potential role it can play in the County
· 15-20 min discussion on successful examples of IT in society - the goal is to help people think about what is possible if needs are addressed
· possibly provide an opportunity for groups or stakeholders that want to share their story with the entire group – in terms of sharing what their accomplishments are and what their needs are, example provided was to invite Tom Coakley of the Canton Initiative to talk about its accomplishments and challenges.
· Folks were open to scheduling the day on May 22, at CU Barben Rooms, with the idea that members of the committee would participate in the session and wouldn’t need to give up a second day that month.

Laura promised to take these suggestions back to the subcommittee and work to come to some resolutions on the suggestions. Also, the subcommittee will ask for help with putting the invite list together. More to come on email.

G2 - Broadband Access Map to Establish Baselines and Target Areas – J Montan provided a brief report on the status of the survey. He received a sample data dump from the Allen Tunnel group to ensure that he is able to use it for the mapping effort. He has not heard from the Chelse Snyder, the Youth Bureau’s intern who is receiving and entering data from the paper surveys. He hasn’t heard a survey count from Allen Tunnel either. The group briefly shared experiences with distributing and sharing the survey. Laura mentioned that she planned to do a second round of press releases and touch base with distribution locations. She also mentioned that she had an interview scheduled with Craig Freleigh at the North Country This Week for an article.

G3 – Laura mentioned the announcement of the grant funding announcement for the project in Newtown Falls. She thanked Jon Montan and Heidi Ames for their role in this process, and will be looking forward to discussions with the partners to close the $25K funding gap.

G4 – SLC Government Technology Projects – M Cunningham gave an update on the status of the County many technology projects currently under way:
New telephone system – some new handsets have been placed on desks with intercom working, Court House scheduled to go live later in April.
Website RFP – is on the street, with responses due back April 10. Return deadline was postponed after some changes were made by dataprocessing.
WAN RFP – is on the street, pre-bid conference was successful, with very few question. Fairly straight forward service requested.
New IT Director Position job desc – Mike thanked folks for making submissions. He said he would take any other input as it comes in, summarize our recommendations and forward to Karen early in April.

New Business –
Laura asked the group to consider a recent announcement by the NYS PSC to take public comment on assigning a new area code. She shared a brief review of the situation and asked whether or not the committee felt it had a role to play in this issue or if it was interested in learning more at a meeting in the future. The thought was to invite someone to come and talk with the committee about the issues involved.
There were mixed reactions to this suggestion. The group decided to watch as the situation progresses. As of 3/24, the public comment period had been suspended because of a court action. It was agreed that we may want to revisit this next month as news progresses.

Next Meeting will be Thursday, April 24th at St. Lawrence University in Canton. Francine Perretta will chair the meeting, and Greg Stahl will host. (Note the date & location previously noted on minutes & agenda was incorrect).

Action Items
· Strategic planning committee to discuss reactions from the full IT Committee, develop invite list and continue planning
· Continue Survey Public Relations
· Members to distribute information about surveys.
· Newton Falls Grant Team to discuss next steps.


List of possible stakeholders for our work session. 3/18/07

1) Local Government
- Town/Village Clerks
- Assessors
- Planning Board members
- County Government
- Libraries
-
2) Higher Education

3) K-12 Education

3) Business & Agriculture
- Chamber of Commerce
- Small Business Reps
- Manufacturing
- Agriculture

4) Healthcare (Hospitals and Medical Providers)

5) Tourism Recreation & Parks

6) Residential

7) Community Based Organizations
- 501C’s (Can we get a list of these in SLC from the County?)

8) Broadband Providers

9) Libraries

02-28-08 Meeting Minutes

St. Lawrence County
Information Technology Advisory Committee
February 28, 2008, 2:00 pm
Location: OBPA, Ogdensburg, NY

Meeting Minutes

Present: Sign in sheet handed out (Laura Perry has on file)

1. Subcommittee’s to meet - As a result of light attendance, the group decided to forgo the time allotted for subcommittee’s to meet to work on their individual efforts, and we continued with the meeting as a full committee.

2. Full Committee to convene – Committee welcomed John Rische (in Wade Davis’ absence) of the OBPA and thanked him for hosting the meeting.

3. It was mentioned that meeting minutes from the 1/24/08 meeting had been prepared and posted to the blog. No comments or changes noted.

4. Project Reports/Old Business

a. Mapping/Survey
· Laura announced that the Internet Availability survey would launch March 3, 2008. She provided hard copies of the flyer to be used to advertise the survey, along with hard copies of the survey and postage paid envelopes. She described the survey’s distribution channels, media, libraries and County DMV’s. Committee members present offered to take the surveys back to their employers and organizations for distribution. Laura will distribute an email to all committee members containing electronic copies of the survey and supporting documents.
· Jon Montan agreed to periodically check on the status of survey results as it is received on-line, and provide an interim report of progress.
· John Rische suggested that the survey be distributed at the Ogdensburg Expo. Laura agreed to contact Pattie Ritchie to inquire if this is possible.

b. Newton Falls Broadband Grant
· Laura reported that the Planning Office was waiting to hear whether the project was funded.
· Laura also informed the committee that she had provided a letter of support as chair of the IT Committee for WavHost’s application to the Universal Access Grant program.
c. Strategic Plan for Universal Broadband Coverage
· Carrie Tuttle shared reported reviewing materials from the Connect Kentucky website. She shared copies of the 2007 Progress Report, Best Practices Resource Guide, as well as Meade County’s Strategic Technology Plan. She offered these as a possible model for our group to consider as it prepares a strategic plan for its efforts. The group was receptive to this idea, agreeing that much of the work already completed by Meade County and others closely reflect the work we’d like to accomplish. The full committee agreed that this was a good start and to consider further how we might utilize this in our efforts.
· A question was raised about how the committee should engage the private providers? It was observed that providers were not present at this meeting, and their participation seems to be falling off. There was recognition that their role with the committee’s efforts is somewhat unclear. It was mentioned that their on-going participation is critical to the future success of the committee’s efforts. At what level, and how they participate, in the committee’s operations is an item to be considered as we move through the strategic planning process.

d. SLC Government Technology Projects
· Francine Perretta asked committee members for input regarding the new IT Director position. Committee members had received via email sample job descriptions from other Counties.
· Francine noted that subcommittee would meet to review the materials and take the best from the several job descriptions for review at next month’s meeting.

5. New Business
· The full committee discussed the need to revisit the attendance expectations for members of the committee. It was noted that it is difficult to make progress when a lot of time is spent reviewing information for members who are frequently absent. It was the consensus of the group that Laura should send a message to the full committee asking for members to confirm their desire to be members of the committee and to ask for more regular attendance.
· In Laura’s upcoming absence, committee members were asked to volunteer to chair the next few meetings. Chairing the committee involves preparing and distributing the agenda, preparing meeting minutes, and running the meeting discussion. Phil Deleel volunteered to chair the March 27th meeting, Francine agreed to chair the April 24th meeting, the May meeting is TBA.

6. Action Items

· Strategic planning committee will meet to review sample plans.

· SLC Gov Tec subcommittee to meet to review IT Director descriptions.

· Members to distribute information about surveys.

Take Our Survey!

All households in St. Lawrence County are asked to participate in a brief, confidential survey that will gather data on the availability of high speed Internet services like DSL, cable modem, and wireless service to residential households. The survey, sponsored by the County’s legislative committee on Information Technology, will result in a map depicting areas throughout the County that are and are not served by high speed Internet service.

Surveys are available on the web at http://www.co.st-lawrence.ny.us/HotNews.htm

For more complete information about this project, read the following:

"Input Sought from St. Lawrence County Households Committee seeks high speed Internet availability information"

Canton, NY, March 3, 2008: Households in St. Lawrence County are asked to participate in a brief, confidential survey that will gather data on the availability of high speed Internet services like DSL, cable modem, and wireless service to residential households. The survey, sponsored by the County’s legislative committee on Information Technology, will result in a map depicting areas throughout the County that are and are not served by high speed Internet service.

Modeled after similar projects in Kentucky, survey results will produce a map designed to fill a gap in data that currently exists. Neither the Federal Communications Commission nor the New York State Public Service Commission reports service availability beyond the zip code level. Drawbacks are that large segments of the community are unrepresented when it comes to accurately reporting service availability. The committee seeks to report service availability to the street address level and is asking for household participation from every corner of the County.

Matched with population data, the map will then be used to identify areas of greatest need for public and private investment to improve service availability. “This survey will create a baseline that will help us determine service availability with a level of accuracy we’ve never had access to before,” shares committee chair and legislator Laura Perry. “The committee suspects there is pent up demand from households throughout St. Lawrence County interested in subscribing to a high speed Internet service but can’t because it isn’t available or it’s too costly. This survey offers an opportunity for those folks to get involved in the process.” Individual survey data will remain confidential. Results will be reported by street address in map format, and in aggregate.

Survey Deadline: April 30, 2008

· Surveys are available on the web at http://www.co.st-lawrence.ny.us/HotNews.htm
· Paper copies are available at any NYS Dept of Motor Vehicle Office or local library in St. Lawrence County.

Return completed paper survey:
by mail to County Clerk’s Office, 48 Court St., Canton, NY 13617 (postage paid envelopes available at any pick up site)
by fax to 315-379-2302
by person at any NYS Dept of Motor Vehicle Office or local library in St. Lawrence County.

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