HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/21/06 Technologies
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MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TECHNOLOGIES BOARD
HELD ON
February 21, 2006
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The Regular Session of the TECHNOLOGIES BOARD of The Colony, Texas was called
to order at 6:29 P.M. on the 21st of February, 2006 at CITY HALL, in the City
Manager's Conference Room, City Hall, 6800 MAIN STREET, THE COLONY,
TEXAS, with the following Technologies Board members pre~ent:
Harshkumar Desai
John Harton
T eRon Lawrence
Michael Lynch
John Marshall
Jack Turner
With six out of six members present a quorum was establisItd and the following items
were addressed:
11.0 I Call Meetin~ to Order: 6:29 P.M.
I 2.0 I DISPOSITION OF MINUTES
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2.1 Acceptance of Technologies Board Minutes for a mefting held on January 10,
2006. (Board)
I 3.0 I CITIZEN INPUT
None
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I 4.0 I AGENDA ITEMS I
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4.1 Emergency Notification System discussion on co~puter dialing system to
citizens in case of emergency (Fire Chief Mike Nolen land Police Captain Chris
~moo~ I
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Chief Nolen explained the need for a system whereby the C~ty could call residents and
businesses in event of an emergency. The Board was given aterials on Code Red and
Reverse 911. Brian Davis of Emergency Communications N twork made a presentation
on Code Red. The system has the capability to make 1,600 ca Is per minute. They bill in
6 second intervals and the proposal provides for 40,000 minu es per year, with an option
to purchase additional minutes if needed. Coppell, Grapevi e and University Park are
some of the cities that are using Code Red now. The Board ked Brian about how they
load the numbers and verify the accuracy. Brian also answer d the Board's question that
the system deletes duplicates. Brian said some cities foun private sponsors or grant
funding to pay for the system. The Board suggested the Ci look at those possibilities.
The company is privately held and has been in business 8 ears. Brian also reviewed
security provisions and about changing logins, passwords d launches as employees
leave the city. The Board asked about sirens and present noti cation systems in the City.
There are options to use the system for emergency and non-e ergency notifications, such
as road closings. Chief Nolen emphasized the importanc of speed in notifying of
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emergencies such as if an evacuation is needed. The Board would like Chief Nolen to
review with them how the Code Red or Reverse 911 system would fit into the City's
overall emergency plan. Reverse 911 will make a presentation in next month's Board
meeting.
4.2 Phone and internet needs for proposed new fire statio~ (Fire Chief Mike Nolen)
Fire Chief Mike Nolen explained the proposed new fire s ation will probably break
ground in early summer on the vacant land at the SW comer of Main St and N Colony
Blvd. He explained the current radio system uses Motorola quipment at 800 MHz and
the radio purchase was funded by Federal grant funds. Th phone needs for the new
station will be for 12 phones lines and internet access. The c rrent stations use point to
point Tl lines for the internet. They will look at either alP or the current phone
system. However, the City is exploring changing the existin phone system. The Tech
Board heard from NCC Communications in a prior meet ng and suggested the IT
Department look at other vendors for VOIP or changes to he existing phone system.
SBC, the current phone provider, now has upgraded phone s stems and VOIP and this
should be explored. TeRon was asked to suggest names of so e vendors for VOIP to the
IT Department. Chief Nolen said it will be another 2-3 mont s before recommendations
will go before the Council. The Board will review a propos~l for a phone system in a
future meeting
4.3 PadCom Software (Police Captain Chris Plemons)
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Police Captain Chris Plemons explained the City is 100ki! at replacing the current
Netscreen system with Padcom. He explained that the mobil connection over wireless
phone used for data terminals in the police cars are droppin connection when in areas
with weak signals necessitating logging back on. The Padc m system would improve
this by maintaining the connection or re-establishing it. The City tested Padcom for 45
days in 2 units and found considerable improvement. The co~ for the system in 10 cars
would be about $6,300. John Harton made a motion that t e Board recommends the
Council purchase the Padcom system. Jack Turner seconde the motion and it carried
with all ayes. .
4.4 Equipment upgrade including all hardware (camerals, lighting, broadcasting,
equipment, etc.) and software to improve broadcasts. ~Staff)
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Ted Ringener showed the Technologies Board the current bro cast room and equipment.
He explained the equipment is old and sometimes unrelia Ie for Council and other
meeting broadcasts. There are limitations such as only record'ng and playing from VHS
tapes and an inability to play or bum DVDs. Due to the omplexity of running the
equipment only one volunteer and one employee can run the e uipment.
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Two proposals from Rushworks were reviewed. One upgra es the existing equipment
for just under $25,000 and would provide new components t at would be easier to run
and so more volunteers and employees could be trained to ru the equipment. Learning
to run the new equipment will probably attract more voluntee s who want to learn to use
it for broadcasts. The other proposal replaces equipment in he current older system to
restore lost capability. There was also discussion about hether there are satellite
channels available for public broadcast and the IT Departm1nt will call Dish Network
and Direct TV to find out. John Harton made a motion that he Board recommends the
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Council purchase the full upgrade which includes new equipment. TeRon Lawrence
seconded the motion and it carried with all ayes.
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4.5 Disaster Recovery - offsite storage alternatives (Staft)
Ted reviewed the City's needs for offsite backup facilities. ! He identified four critical
applications needed for backup: e-mail, Incode (the Accounti~g system), file server, and
Trak-It (the Planning and Code Enforcement system). H~I explained that the Police
internet connection runs through City Hall. He outlined publi safety concerns as part of
the disaster recovery plan. John Harton suggested possibly pI cing a redundant server in
the City at a location far from the City Hall. The IT de artment should see which
solutions are most cost effective.
The Board then discussed the options to buy a back up gener tor with the existing funds
and ask the Council for more funds for the building wiring n cessary to strip loads for a
generator of the proposed size. The Board discussed a olution to use the funds
designated for the generator purchase to accomplish the buH ing wiring with the option
to rent or borrow a generator, when and if it were needed. I the future the City could
then purchase a generator. This would solve the problem of s staining operations in City
Hall during loss of power. The Board suggested IT Departme t get bids on wiring for the
building infrastructure to enable operation of a generator an look at the feasibility of
renting a generator, as needed.
This would be one piece of the solution for disaster recove and other issues will be
discussed in a future board meeting.
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ADJOURNMENT
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:4 p.m.
APPROVED:
c?~ '/l1~
~ Mar hall, Chairman
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