NEBRASKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION
Friday, September 23, 2005, 1:00 p.m.
Southeast Community College Division of Continuing Studies
301 South 68th Street Place, Lincoln, Nebraska
APPROVED MINUTES
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy, Chair
Greg Adams, Mayor, City of York
Dr. Doug Christensen, Nebraska Department of Education
L. Merill Bryan, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Union Pacific (Retired)
Senator Phil Erdman, Ex-officio Liaison (Scottsbluff Site)
Dr. Doug Kristensen, Chancellor, University of Nebraska-Kearney
Trev Peterson, Attorney, Knudsen, Berkheimer, Richardson, and Endacott, LLP
MEMBERS ABSENT: Linda Aerni, Chief Executive Officer, Community Internet Systems; and Dr. Eric Brown, Manager, KRVN Radio
CALL TO ORDER, NOTICE OF MEETING AND ROLL CALL
Lieutenant Governor Sheehy called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m. There were seven members present at the time of roll call. A quorum of six-voting members was present to conduct official business. The meeting notice was posted to the Nebraska Public Meeting Calendar on August 31, 2005. The meeting agenda was posted to the NITC Web site on September 15, 2005. Chancellor Doug Kristensen was welcomed as a newly appointed NITC Commissioner.
APPROVAL OF JUNE 2005 NITC MEETING MINUTES
Commissioner Christensen moved to approve the June 14, 2005 minutes as presented. Commissioner Peterson seconded. Roll call vote: Adams-Yes, Bryan-Yes, Christensen-Yes, Kristensen-Abstained, Sheehy-Yes, and Peterson-Yes. Results: Yes-5, No-0, Abstained-1. Motion was carried by majority vote.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Roger Hahn commented that all but about 27 Nebraska towns now have local broadband Internet services. The largest community that does not yet have local broadband access is Bee, with a population of 232. Most communities without local broadband Internet access have populations in the range of 50 to 100.
DAS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES ANNUAL REPORT
Brenda Decker, Chief Information Officer
Ms. Decker presented the first annual report of the new restructured operational I.T. organizations. Sections of the report are as follows: Mission Statement and Statutory References, Update from the CIO, Nebraska Information Technology Commission, Enterprise Computing, Intergovernmental Data Services, IT Financial Solutions, Network Services, Planning and Project Management, Technology Support Services, and Shared Services. The report will be posted to the NITC Web site.
MEETING SYNOPSIS OF AUGUST 9, 2005 JOINT MEETING WITH THE NITC ADVISORY COUNCILS
Steve Henderson, I.T. Administrator, Planning and Project Management
Lt. Governor Sheehy thanked all those who attended the August 9th joint meeting of the NITC Advisory Groups and asked Steve Henderson to provide a meeting synopsis. (PDF 16k)
Mr. Henderson stated that the August 9th meeting was an unprecedented opportunity for all of the NITC advisory councils to meet. A brainstorming session produced five collaborative action items that the councils will work on collaboratively:
- Stimulate job creation and economic development, including the development of a skilled technical workforce.
- Examine policy implications of the use of shared network assets.
- Make it easier to access information resources in Nebraska through a knowledge management system.
- Use high bandwidth flexible use circuits as community aggregation points and create a statewide, high bandwidth digital content delivery system using satellite, terrestrial and wireless technology.
- Improve disaster recovery and business continuity procedures
Lt. Governor Sheehy has sent letters thanking the attendees and encouraging them to participate in the work groups. The Statewide Technology Plan Part I is an action item today on the NITC agenda. If approved, action plans will need to be identified and developed. If persons are interested and have not signed up for a work group, they are to contact Lori Lopez Urdiales.
STATEWIDE TECHNOLOGY PLANS 2005-06 – PART I
Ms. Decker commented that staff researched other state’s technology plans. Nebraska’s is different in that it included accomplishments. Commissioners provided feedback on the plan’s content.
Discussions occurred regarding the purpose of the Statewide Technology Plan, the NITC goals and strategic initiatives, prioritization of I.T. budget requests, the passage of LB 689, and the NITC’s visibility and role in I.T. budget requests and legislation.
Commissioners recommended that communication efforts to the Legislature be enhanced. Other suggestions included:
- Briefings to the following legislative committees: Education, Appropriations, and Transportation & Telecommunications.
- Briefings to the other statewide commissions and boards addressing similar issues.
Commission Christensen moved to approve the Statewide Technology Plan 2005-06 Part I (PDF 403k). Commissioner Adams seconded. Roll call vote: Bryan-Yes, Christensen-Yes, Adams-Yes, Peterson-Yes, Sheehy-Yes, and Kristensen-Yes. Roll call vote: Yes-6, No-0. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES – SECURITY & BUSINESS RESUMPTION
NITC DIRECTIVE FOR RESTORATION TIMELINE & PRIORITY
Since the hurricane incidents, the need and awareness of security and business redemption has come to the forefront. This must be addressed by state government.
Commissioner Bryan moved to direct the State Government Council to explore the issues and make recommendation to the NITC regarding restoration timelines and priorities. Commissioner Peterson seconded. Roll call vote: Kristensen-Yes, Adams-Yes, Sheehy-Yes, Bryan-Yes, Peterson-Yes, and Christensen-Yes. Results: Yes-6, No-0. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.
REPORTS & ACTION ITEMS – COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Anne Byers, Community I.T. Manager
Membership. Carol Brandl, one of the members representing Telehealth, has resigned from the Community Council to focus on the expansion of the telehealth network. Brandon Kelliher, IS Operations Manager for Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte, has been nominated by the Community Council to fill her vacancy.
Commissioner Adams move to approve the Community Council’s nomination of Brandon Kelliher (PDF 8k) as one of telehealth representatives. Commissioner Peterson seconded. Roll call vote: Sheehy-Yes, Bryan-Yes, Peterson-Yes, Christensen-(not present at time of vote), Kristensen-Yes, and Adams-Yes. Results: Yes-5, No-0. Motion was carried by majority vote.
TIGER Grants: Another funding cycle was approved at the last NITC meeting. The deadline for applications to be submitted was September 1, 2005. Eleven grant applications were received. Applications are currently being reviewed by reviewers approved by the Technical Panel.
I.T. Planning and Mini Grant Program Update. There were six communities participating in the last funding cycle. They are currently completing their projects.
REPORTS & ACTION ITEMS – EDUCATION COUNCIL
Tom Rolfes, Education I.T. Manager
The Education Council has met twice since the last NITC meeting. On May 20th, the council met at Millard Public Schools. On August 9th, 18 council members and alternates attended the Joint meeting. Many members have signed up for work groups.
Membership. The Education Council recognized Mr. Mike Pate for his service to the NITC and the State of Nebraska since July 2003. Mr. Linster has appointed Mr. John Dunning of Wayne State College as his alternate. Mr. Dunning was present. The Education Council would like to recommend Linda Richards, representing Boards of Education, to replace the vacancy left by Mike Pate. Mr. Kent Gydesen, Lexington Public schools, will be her alternate. Ms. Richards was present.
Commissioner Peterson moved to approve the Education Council’s nomination of Linda Richards to serve on the council representing Boards of Education. Commissioner Kristensen seconded. Roll call vote: Adams-Yes, Bryan-Yes, Christensen-Yes, Kristensen-Yes, Sheehy-Yes, and Peterson-Yes. Results: Yes-6, No-0. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.
REPORTS & ACTION ITEMS – STATE GOVERNMENT COUNCIL
Rick Becker, Government I.T. Manager
The State Government Council has held one regular meeting since last NITC meeting. Topics being addressed by the council include: URL standard analysis, procurement issues for IT purchases, and the inclusion of GIS as a shared services. Nebraska’s ranking improved this year in the Brown University I.T. 2005 Survey. Nebraska went from 47th in 2004 to 23rd in 2005 for improvement in online services and initiating a security statement.
REPORTS & ACTION ITEMS – TECHNICAL PANEL
Walter Weir, Chair
The Technical Panel has held three meetings since last NITC meeting. Technical project reviews have been completed. Mr. Henderson was thanked for moderating the August 9th Joint meeting. The Technical Panel has two recommendations for the NITC.
Standards & Guidelines – GIS Metadata Standard. Metadata is data about data. The purposes of this standard is to preserve the public’s investment in geospatial data, to save public resources by avoiding unnecessary duplication of expensive geospatial data acquisition, to minimize errors through inappropriate application of geospatial data, and to facilitate harmonious trans-agency public policy decision-making and implementation through the use of shared geospatial data.
Commissioner Adams moved to approve the GIS Metadata Standard (PDF 32k) as recommended by the Technical Panel. Commissioner Christensen seconded. Roll call vote: Christensen-Yes, Kristensen-Yes, Bryan-Yes, Sheehy-Yes, Adams-Yes, and Peterson-Yes. Results: Yes-6, No-0. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.
Revised Technical Panel Charter. Panel members raised the question regarding nominations and decisions for membership of members who are not in statute. The following statement was added to the charter:
6.3 Member Recommendations and Approval
Recommendations for membership on the Technical Panel will be considered from the agency represented for members in sections 6.2.1 through 6.2.3; from the CIO of the University of Nebraska and the CIO of the State of Nebraska the member listed in section 6.2.6; and from the Education Council of the NITC for the member listed in section 6.2.7. All members of the Technical Panel must be approved by the Commission.
Commissioner Byran moved to approve the revised Technical Panel Charter (PDF 50k). Commissioner Adams seconded. Roll call vote: Peterson-Yes, Sheehy-Yes, Kristensen-Yes, Christensen-Yes, Bryan-Yes, and Adams-Yes. Results: Yes-6, No-0. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.
EDUCATION COUNCIL – ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND UPDATE
LB 689 DISTANCE EDUCATION TASK FORCE UPDATE & DISCUSSION
Dr. Juck Huck and Alan Wibbels, Co-Chairs
Dr. Huck stated that the Education Council’s attendance today was the largest it has ever been. Council members introduced themselves. A written statement from the Education Council was presented to the Commissioners that also served as a lead into the LB 689 discussions. Several members present also serve on the LB 689 Distance Learning Education Enhancement Task Force.
Some of the overall concerns and comments focused on the following:
- Adequate bandwidth provides for the electronic collection of data and transmission of classroom instruction.
- Financial support and funding. Education can support part of costs but need financial assistance from the state.
- Explore aggregation and subsidization of costs
- Assistance from the Public Service Commission and the Nebraska Universal Service Fund similar to what was done for the Telehealth Network
- Options and utilization of e-rate
- Cost of school districts to get to the backbone can be costly.
- Preservation of rural Nebraska is vital and necessary. The State of Nebraska must be committed to prosper rural Nebraska and to have the technology in order to enhance economic development. Governor Heineman has passed the Grow Nebraska Entrepreneurship Project legislation.
- Rural Nebraska. The rural needs are different in different parts of the state and cannot be lumped together.
It would cost approximately $3.30 per public K-12 and Higher Education student/per year to fund the backbone transport across the state; equal to about $1.27 million/year; $2.3 million for 6 strategically located large-scale aggregation routers on Network Nebraska plus an additional $337,000/year for maintenance.
Ms. Decker stated that the technology and means are there to correct the technical and bandwidth issues, but there is a cost. The bigger issue is how and who will pay the costs. Senator Raikes has stated that there will be no new funding. No firm decisions have been made by the Task Force but they do see Network Nebraska as a viable network.
Ms. Decker encouraged members as private citizens to use the legislative process and express their concerns to their senators.
NEW BUSINESS
Ms. Decker announced that the NITC, along with Government Technology Magazine, will be hosting a Government I.T. Conference on November 15, 2005 at the Embassy Suites in Lincoln. This year’s conference will involve state as well as local government agencies. Commissioners were invited to attend.
Nebraska is participating in a panel discussion on October 19, 2005 at an Electronic Medical Records Conference in Washington, D.C. Nebraska is recognized as a national leader in this area.
ADJOURNMENT AND NEXT MEETING DATE
The next meeting of the Nebraska Information Technology Commission will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2005, 1:30 p.m. The location will be determined at a later time.
Commissioner Peterson moved to adjourn. Commissioner Adams seconded. Roll call vote: Adams-Yes, Bryan-Yes, Christensen-Yes, Kristensen-Yes, Sheehy-Yes, and Peterson-Yes. Results: Yes-6, No-0. Motion was carried by unanimous vote.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m.
Meeting minutes were taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales and reviewed by staff of the Office of the CIO/NITC.
Meeting Minutes