City Council

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 The City Council of DeKalb, Illinois held a Committee of the Whole meeting on September 25, 2017, in the City Council Chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. Mayor Smith called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m. A. ROLL CALL City Clerk Herrmann called the roll and the following members of the City Council were present: Alderman Bill Finucane, Alderman Mike Marquardt, Alderman Pat Fagan, Alderman Kate Noreiko, Alderman Tony Faivre, and Mayor Jerry Smith. Alderman David Jacobson arrived at 5:03 p.m. Alderman Mike Verbic arrived at 5:07 p.m. Also present were: City Manager Anne Marie Gaura, Assistant City Manager Patty Hoppenstedt, City Attorney Dean Frieders, Finance Director Molly Talkington, Police Chief Gene Lowery, Deputy Fire Chief Jeff McMaster, Community Development Director Jo Ellen Charlton, Public Works Director Tim Holdeman, Information Technology Director Marc Thorson, Human Resources Director Cris Randall, Economic Development Planner Jason Michnick, and City Clerk Susanna Herrmann. B. ITEMS ALSO ON THE REGULAR AGENDA There were none. C. CONSIDERATIONS 1. Downtown Wireless Internet Opportunity. Information Technology Director Thorson provided a brief overview of this item stating that City staff has been evaluating solutions to provide complimentary public wireless internet (Wi-Fi) in the downtown business district. The City and Northern Illinois University (NIU) have been discussing ways to accomplish this in a limited fashion with available funds. In speaking with colleagues, staff was introduced to a company called Digital Lobby that had worked with a nearby government entity. Digital Lobby has an interesting business model that can help the City accomplish its goal of complete Wi-Fi coverage in the downtown business district without any additional expenditures to the City or NIU beyond the foundation work the City and NIU are currently collaborating. Digital Lobby is a marketing company, which provides the additional wireless access points needed to cover the entire downtown business district. In addition, Digital Lobby would provide a platform, which is compatible with nearly any Wi-Fi technology to provide complimentary public Wi-Fi, provide (anonymous) aggregate analytics to the organizations involved (DeKalb and NIU), and engage community businesses to provide a marketing strategy geared to help local businesses. This can all be accomplished at no cost to the City or NIU. Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes September 25, 2017 Page 2 of 5 Information Technology Director Thorson continued, stating that in return for the added Wi-Fi equipment and access to the platform, Digital Lobby will propose advertising opportunities including signage on public spaces in the downtown area and on the NIU campus. The locations, amount, and frequency of the advertising proposals are subject to negotiation and both City and NIU approval. He added that City staff approached NIU on this proposition, and together met with Digital Lobby to discuss what options are available. NIU is offering its existing campus Wi-Fi infrastructure to this proposal to gain access to the Digital Lobby platform. The combination of resources and assets of the City and NIU are very important to the success of this project. According to Information Technology Director Thorson, the City is looking for more insight into the needs of its residents and businesses, and this public/private partnership can assist with that endeavor. Additionally, the engagement offered in this project can provide local businesses with opportunities the City and NIU could not offer otherwise. This project provides messaging opportunities for the City and NIU that provides marketing reach to promote activities and events. Staff has also contacted representatives from the DeKalb Park District and the DeKalb Public Library to let them know about the potential of this project and what opportunities could be possible for their respective organizations. He noted that the overall feedback received from both was positive. Information Technology Director Thorson also noted that staff has reached out to references provided by Digital Lobby and received positive feedback. Digital Lobby provides a unique project possibility to expand the Wi-Fi coverage beyond what the City and NIU can afford individually, provide a platform to collect valuable information about respective customers, and engage local businesses and provide a platform to reach current and perspective customers. The expansion of the project and access to the platform is not expected to be of any cost to the City or NIU. He also stated that there may be revenue potential to both the City and NIU through this partnership. Kevin Niebergall introduced Community Wi-Fi by Digital Lobby and used a PowerPoint presentation to provide information regarding their services. He stated that their organization will assist in the facilitation of top-of-the-line digital opportunities, showed detailed coverage of the potential Wi-Fi network on a map, and discussed their strategic plan and the possibilities for moving forward. Information Technology Director Thorson expressed excitement over the potential Wi-Fi opportunity and stated that the project is a collaborative effort with NIU. He stated that the implementation of this network will help the City make data driven decisions. Mayor Smith asked if it was going to focus on the downtown area, and if it would be possible to expand this opportunity. Information Technology Director Thorson responded in the affirmative and referenced comments made at the September 19, 2017, Special Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting by Community Development Director Charlton that the infrastructure projects in the downtown area are to help emphasize the other nearby developments. He stated that this discussion could be a part of a Phase 1 of the Wi-Fi project and the City could expand that reach as far as it would like to in the future.  Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes September 25, 2017 Page 3 of 5 Alderman Finucane asked Mr. Niebergall how staff would be able to differentiate between residents and visitors during the log-in process. Mr. Niebergall provided suggestions to address this issue. Lou Phillips, with Digital Lobby, concurred with Mr. Niebergall. Alderman Finucane mentioned the range of service and noted that it appeared to cover approximately a one block radius. Mr. Niebergall confirmed Alderman Finucane’s observation and stated that it depends on the type of equipment being used and the amount of bandwidth support provided. He asked Kevin Karch, a Digital Lobby network specialist, to confirm that there is an approximate 300-500 foot range from each access point. Mr. Karch confirmed. Alderman Finucane then asked if there would be a possibility to create temporary extra capacity in order to support the increase in foot traffic for community events hosted in the downtown area. Mr. Niebergall replied yes, and explained the use of temporary access points. Alderman Noreiko commented that a citizen reached out to her and wondered if this type of internet access is necessary if mobile service companies already provide the service. Mr. Niebergall explained that there is a multi-faceted answer to the question and briefly discussed the possibility of network and bandwidth changes in the future. He stated that the implementation of Digital Lobby services will combat challenges presented by those changes. Alderman Noreiko clarified that this platform is the base that other mechanisms can link in to. Mr. Niebergall confirmed and stated that eventually, everything will be Wi-Fi. City Manager Gaura clarified that anyone visiting a downtown business could access this network, which will make it a marketing tool for the City and the downtown area. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt added that the utilization of the network will create a customized experience for the user that they would not otherwise receive through their mobile carrier. Mr. Niebergall added that Digital Lobby will be providing a much better Wi-Fi service than that of other mobile carrier hotspots. He noted that there is a sense of security for the user knowing that the City is supporting it. Alderman Fagan asked how secure the network will be. Mr. Niebergall responded that their network is beyond secure. He explained the process of white listing harmful sites to ensure that the network never becomes compromised. Alderman Fagan asked if identity theft could be a potential issue. Mr. Niebergall responded that an individual would have to be really creative and have a specific target in order to do so. Alderman Fagan then asked Mr. Niebergall if their network is going to be more secure than a public Wi-Fi access point, to which he replied in the affirmative. Alderman Jacobson commented that with the old demographics system gone, retailers want detailed information regarding their consumers. He asked what sort of an encryption Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes September 25, 2017 Page 4 of 5 is being used and how compatible the network will be with the 5G standard. Mr. Karch stated that it will be a totally different network, but it is continuously evolving. Alderman Jacobson then asked if there is any risk to the City to be obsolete with this network in the near future. Mr. Karch replied not necessarily, and clarified that 5G and Wi-Fi are two separate platforms. Mr. Niebergall stated that the carriers are going to be installing the equipment within the municipality. He offered more detailed information regarding the matter. Mayor Smith suggested having that detailed discussion at another time. Alderman Faivre asked if the analytics were specific to collecting data from users who will utilize their Facebook account on the network. Mr. Niebergall replied yes. He stated that Digital Lobby is very guarded regarding their analytics and there are other ways to gather user specific information without obtaining sensitive personal information. Alderman Faivre then asked if the City will have access to those analytics. Mr. Niebergall replied yes, the City will have a dashboard program available to assist in obtaining the stored data quickly and easily. Using the PowerPoint presentation, he showed the dashboard program and explained the different categories of data that will be presented. Alderman Faivre commented that anyone who uses a cellphone is already being tracked. He mentioned the free applications and location settings that people often utilize that diminish the sponsorship of the network. Mr. Niebergall added that this has caused him to carefully read the terms of services agreements for some of the applications that people often download and install on their mobile phones and other devices. Alderman Faivre then asked Mr. Niebergall if the Digital Lobby service is set up by the City or by individual businesses, to which he replied both. Alderman Faivre noted that it would be helpful to local businesses to have their own for advertisement purposes. Mr. Niebergall stated that each Digital Lobby access point will be specific to the location. However, if there are different zones in the City that would need access point specification, those locations could have their own pages to provide users with the opportunity to choose which access point to utilize. Mr. Phillips stated that there will be specific requirements regarding the matter. Mayor Smith expressed interest in hearing from those NIU representatives present pertaining to the Digital Lobby project. Bret Coryell, Vice President of the Information Technology Department at NIU, stated that NIU is supportive of the project as an institution. He shared his personal perspective that the implementation of Digital Lobby’s Community Wi-Fi service makes sense for the City to emphasize “Communiversity” to a mobile generation of students. He agreed with previous comments made, stating that technologies will evolve, but the City still needs to take the first step. He addressed Alderman Fagan’s concerns regarding network security and stated that maintaining security is extremely difficult and no organization on the planet  Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes September 25, 2017 Page 5 of 5 has shown that it has been able to withstand an intentional, sustained attack. Mr. Coryell continued, stating there are many different ways to detect and respond to imposed threats of that nature and recommended that there be a thorough discussion with the City’s Information Technology Director regarding the matter. D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There was none. City Manager Gaura turned discussion over to Information Technology Director Thorson for clarification of the direction needed from Council during the Special COW meeting and subsequently, direction needed from Council during the Regular City Council meeting. Information Technology Director Thorson added that staff has not participated in any discussions with NIU or Digital Lobby that extend further than preliminary possibilities. He stated that Council direction is needed prior to staff moving forward with the project. E. RECESS FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL 1. Approval to Hold an Executive Session to Discuss the Purchase or Lease of Real Property as Provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(5). 2. Approval to Hold an Executive Session to Discuss Pending or Imminent Litigation as Provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11). Not acted on. F. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Alderman Verbic moved to adjourn the Committee of the Whole meeting; seconded by Alderman Fagan. VOTE Motion carried by an 8-0 voice vote. Aye: Jacobson, Finucane, Marquardt, Fagan, Noreiko, Verbic, Faivre, Smith. Mayor Smith declared the motion passed and the Committee of the Whole meeting adjourned at 5:56 p.m. ________________________________ SUSANNA HERRMANN, City Clerk Approved by City Council: October 23, 2017.