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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/14/07 Technologies August 14, 2007 MINUTES CITY OF THE COLONY TECHNOLOGIES BOARD August 14,2007 Ana determining that a quorum was present, the Technologies Board of the City of The Colony, Texas convened into regular session which was held on August 14,2007 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Managers Conference Room located in City Hall, 6800 Main Street, The Colony, Texas, at which time the following items were addressed: Present: John Harton, Chairman; Jack Turner; Mark Porter & Harshkumar Desai Present from Staff: Rebecca Koo, Finance Director; Matthew Johnson, IT Manager; Felicia Koppang, Permit Technician Arrived Late: John Marshall, Council Liaison 11.0 I CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chairman Harton called meeting to order at 6:34 pm. ! I L 2.0~_1 DISPOSITION OF MINUTES 2.1 ! Acceptance or correction and acceptance of Technologies Board Minutes for meeting held on July 24th1h, 2007. (Board) Minutes were approved and signed by Chairman Harton. /3.0 I CITIZEN INPUT No citizen input was received. j 4.0 !AGENDAITEMS Discuss, review and approve Wireless Mesh RFP. : 4.1 I Mr. Johnson presented the staff report. Mr. Harton asked if the City would still be paying for the services and why would the company not be paying the City if they are making money off the advertisements. Mr. Johnson explained that the City is not dictating what the arrangement is. John Marshall arrived at the meeting at 6:45 pm. Mr. Harton asked if the proposal is going to be city-wide. Mr. Johnson answered yes. August 14. 2007 Mr. Harton asked if MetroPi is planning on making money off the City. Mr. Johnson explained that MetroFi is planning on providing a service to the citizens at no cost. Mr. Harton asked if the City can get a better deal since MetroPi is going to make their money back through advertising. Mr. Johnson explained that the service includes a 5 year refresh, Help Desk services and a Q&A website that would cost the City a lot more to do ourselves. Ms. Koo asked if PIano used the same type of service. Mr. Johnson explained that MetroPi backed out when PIano put in a multi-million dollar 4.9 Wireless Network and requested the company offer it to the public. Mr. Harton asked how the systems are to be mounted. Mr. Johnson answered that if the lightposts are over 20 feet tall then they can be used. Mr. Porter asked what the bottom-line cost to the City was. Mr. Johnson answered the one proposal that has been received is around $80,000 annually which provided a 5 year commitment and 5 year refresh but was only an estimate with the City installing the poles. Mr. Harton asked if City Council was supporting the proposition. Mr. Johnson answered yes. Mr. Harton asked where the funding is coming from for this proposal. Ms. Koo stated that the last budget included $400,000 proposal for improvements. Mr. Porter asked if the poles that are not up in the City now are included in the proposal. Mr. Johnson answered that the City is specifying that the cost for the poles must be included in the proposal and installation must be approved by the City. Mr. Turner asked if cost was irrelevant. Mr. Johnson explained that the City has looked at 5-7 wireless companies/providers and MetroPi model is the best opportunity with the least liability for the City. Mr. Harton asked if the concept of city-wide wireless access was gOIng to be introduced neighborhood by neighborhood. Mr. Johnson answered yes. Mr. Porter asked who makes the decision of the AP locations. Mr. Johnson explained that the locations to a relatively small area would be decided on by MetroFi because they cover only a certain area and need to overlap somewhat. The rest will be dictated by City Council. Mr. Desai asked what the maximum height of the antenna's location is. Mr. Johnson stated that they should be at a level of about 25 feet. 2 August 14, 2007 Mr. Porter asked if the antennas would cover larger areas if placed on a water tower. Mr. Johnson explained that the antenna signal would angle out about 45 degrees and the distance is still only about 500 feet. Mr. Desai asked how many other cities use the antennas. Mr. Johnson stated that Corpus Christie was the first well known city to use the antennas. Another city is Granbury. Mr. Desai asked which cities in Denton County use the antennas. Mr. Johnson stated Carrollton has a Wireless Mesh antenna with Motorola. Mr. Harton asked if Addison has a Wireless Mesh antenna. Mr. Johnson stated yes. Mr. Desai asked how the City can make money out of the deal. Mr. Johnson stated if the City kept the wireless in house it is a possibility to make money. Mr. Porter asked why the City needs wireless mesh. Mr. Johnson stated that the City doesn't. Mr. Porter asked what the City is getting out of the deal. Ms. Koo explained that the City will benefit in the future with the expansion of services to things like Meter Reading. Mr. Harton asked of the Police Department and Fire Department's use after the City just purchased a new police radio system. Mr. Turner stated the Police Department can use the wireless mesh for video reference and use wireless from car to car. The Fire Department can pull up blueprints when going to a site that is on fire to see if there are hazardous chemicals and such. Mr. Harton asked Mr. Marshall what the City Council's thoughts are. Mr. Marshall stated he is not sure. Mr. Harton asked if a wireless camera could be mounted anywhere in the City. Mr. Johnson answered yes. Mr. Harton asked if anyone has any issues as far as the procedure for wireless mesh. The Board Members answered no. Board Member Desai moved to recommend approval of the Wireless Mesh RFP, as presented by staff. It was seconded by Board Member Turner and the motion carried unanimously (4-0). 3 August 14. 2007 _.~ , 1 4.2 Discuss and make recommendation to the Council on V oIP solutions for Fire Station 3 and Ci Hall. Mr. Johnson presented the staff report. Ms. Koo asked if the cost was $100 per person. Mr. Johnson explained that most of the cost was due to licensing. The proposal includes a switch at City Hall, a switch at the Fire Station and 10 licenses for each location. Mr. Turner asked if this was a concept to enhance the old system. Mr. Johnson explained that this will be the only system for the City and needs to be in place. Mr. Turner asked if there will only be ten in City Hall. Mr. Johnson stated initially. The City might go ahead and do all of City Hall if the funding can be found. Mr. Harton asked if the system has to be in by September 1. Mr. Johnson explained that he has to have it in place and operating by October 1. Mr. Turner asked if the money is already available. Mr. Johnson answered that money is in the budget for the Fire Station. Mr. Harton asked which one of the four proposals Mr. Johnson would recommend and why. Mr. Johnson stated Westron. He has seen it working and is comfortable with their system. Mr. Harton asked if the twenty-four port phone switches are included in all the proposals. Mr. Johnson answered A vaya. It is offered but the proposal is not a complete quote. Mr. Marshall asked if there would be differences in handsets. Mr. Johnson explained the companies sell their handsets and you would have to purchase them. Mr. Marshall asked if there were limited sets with different functions. Mr. Johnson stated yes but some even come with video conferencing. Mr. Marshall asked what the cost per handset would be. Mr. Johnson stated it would be anywhere from $200 to $500 each. Mr. Harton asked if the interactive software license was necessary. Mr. Johnson explained yes because the City wants to be able to forward phones and receive voicemail through their email. Mr. Harton asked which company Mr. Johnson recommends. Mr. Johnson stated Westron. Mr. Harton asked if we were to say Westron and A vaya are the two companies that are recognized to be the better of the four. Mr. Johnson stated yes. 4 August 14, 2007 Board Member Porter moved to recommend approval of the VoIP solutions for Fire Station 3 and City Hall, as presented by staff. It was seconded by Board Member Turner and the motion carried unanimously (4-0). I 4.3 Discuss and make recommendation to the Council on laying fiber between Ci Hall, Fire Station 3, Police De artment and 1 Harris Plaza. Mr. Harton asked if this has to do with VoIP. Mr. Johnson answered no; it has to do with poor connectivity. Mr. Johnson presented the staff report. Mr. Harton asked if the price could possibly go down. Mr. Johnson answered yes. Mr. Porter asked if it would be less expensive to go with the wireless system discussed earlier in the meeting would be cheaper. Mr. Johnson answered yes but it is not as reliable as a fiber connection. Ms. Koo asked if fiber is better than wireless mesh. Mr. Johnson answered yes. Mr. Harton asked why the fiber is needed to go to the Fire Station. Mr. Johnson stated VolP and five computers. Wireless is a five year solution. Fiber is a 30 year solution. Mr. Harton asked what will be accessed to where that much bandwidth is needed. Mr. Johnson stated they don't need it, but going forward if the City puts in fiber everywhere it is needed, there will be a fiber ring going in one side of the building and out the other through every building in the City. The other option would be wireless. a T I at $300 a month or the onetime charge for fiber at $8.000 - $14,000. Mr. Harton asked what it would be to go to the Police Station. Mr. Johnson answered the price would drop dramatically because they would not have to dig as deep. It is four times the distance but only twice the cost. Mr. Harton asked if the main reason for the depth is because of the expansion of Main Street and isn't that done through the City. Mr. Johnson stated yes and the expansion is through TXDOT. Mr. Johnson introduced the quote for I Harris Plaza. Mr. Harton asked where the money is coming from. Mr. Johnson stated the Court Technology Fund is funding for the Police Department, the Fire Department is in the budget. Ms. Koo stated 1 Harris Plaza is being funded through Public Works, Fleet Services and Utility. The Council wants to see their Cost/Benefit Analysis first and will then see how the money will be split. Because of the time constraint, the Fire Department needs to be taken care of first. 5 August 14, 2007 Mr. Harton asked if all the servers for the Court are backed up. Mr. Johnson stated yes. Mr. Harton asked if the City could backup the Courts at City Hall with the fiber. Mr. Johnson stated yes. Mr. Harton asked if placing the fiber was going to be done by contractors and not city employees. Mr. Johnson stated yes. Mr. Harton asked if the City has a Fiber optic Technician trained for repairs. Mr. Johnson stated that the vendor will be called in for repairs. Board Member Turner moved to recommend approval on laying fiber between City Hall, Fire Station 3, Police Department and 1 Harris Plaza, as presented by staff. It was seconded by Board Member Desai and the motion carried unanimously (4-0). 5.0 I ADJOURNMENT Chairman Harton adjourned the meeting at 7:54 pm. //) /!~ /'/,i' . </ i / /., 1 /If/0J L~ Mark Porter, Secretary 6