Technology Advisory Committee

TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Draft Minutes Meeting of May 6, 2021 Present: Roger Palmer, Karen Warren, Councilman Anthony Mangiafico, Lauren Middleton, Councilman Grady Faulkner, Councilman Tony Gennaro, Brian Robillard, Bryan Skowera (Staff) Absent: Joe Samolis, Foster Charles, Michael Skott (Staff) Call to Order: Roger Palmer called the meeting to order at 6:01pm. Approval of Minutes: Councilman Mangiafico made a motion to accept the meeting minutes. Councilman Gennaro seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Public Comments No one from the public was in attendance. Old Business Updates on Existing Projects We’re in the process of wrapping up our fiscal year projects. Redundancy of the City’s internet service through the Cross St. Fire Station is under ongoing testing. The State’s Public Wi-Fi has been made available at City Hall. Hybrid meetings are taking place. For the Youth Services Bureau, initial equipment has been ordered and they need to install an emergency alert paging system, and we are testing a list server for opting in & out of emails and for archiving email conversations of City Commissions, Committees & Boards. Karen Warren asked if there were any requirements for a municipality to adhere to. Bryan Skowera answered that there are no requirements. Brian Robillard asked if the list server can be used for large construction projects for engineers in the city and contractors. Bryan Skowera answered that it can be used for that purpose. The server is being built for multiple purposes. Karen Warren asked: is this just within City business or can it be used widely? Bryan Skowera answered: we can use it for any project that originates out of a city office. New Business Expiration of Governor’s Executive Order 7B This is an executive order which allows for entirely electronic meetings which will expire on May 19 th. On May 20th and moving forward, all public meetings has to have a physical location. Meetings cannot be conducted purely electronically as they are now. Lauren Middleton asked: Will the public have access to the meetings remotely or will that be going away? Bryan Skowera answered: Meetings outside of the council chambers don’t have a central audio/visual system. We’re trying to develop one. P a g e | 1 of 2 Community Workshop regarding City’s Website Councilman Faulkner asked: There are a lot of activities that are going on with the city. Is there an email that can go out to the public with a list of city events? Bryan answered: The Arts Department sends out a digital newsletter that highlights all activities happening in a given month. There is also the Community Calendar which the public can also subscribe to, to receive texts and emails on upcoming events. Post-Pandemic Business Processes Councilman Faulkner asked: Has there been any conversations, in the city, to continue any business processes that started during the pandemic? Bryan Skowera answered that he can’t speak to the internal processes of other departments but hybrid meetings are here to stay. Purely electronic meetings is still uncertain. Bryan explained other business processes efficiencies that are being worked on now such as submitting electronic timesheets instead of submitting paper timesheets, and working on getting direct deposit slips online instead of paper copies. Department Restructuring The Common Council is considering restructuring PCD into Land Use separate from the Economic Community Development Department. Discussion of Items to be placed on the Next Agenda - Update on Governor’s Executive Order 7B Adjournment The Committee adjourned at 6:37pm on a motion by Councilman Faulkner. Councilman Mangiafico seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. P a g e | 2 of 2