Nebraska Information Technology Commission: Meeting Minutes

COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Nebraska Information Technology Commission
Friday, July 7, 2000, 1:30 p.m.
State Office Building, Conference Room A, Lower Level
301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska

APPROVED MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT
Donna Hammack Health-Good Samaritan Foundation	Craig Schroeder Agriculture-Rural Development Commission
Mike Nolan Local Government-City of Norfolk	Ted Smith Libraries - Norfolk Public Library
Jeanne Saathoff Libraries-Kearney Public Library	Bob Sweeney Business-AIM Institute
Gene Hand Public Service Commission	Lance Hedquist (via phone bridge) Local Government-City of South Sioux City
Gary Kiel (via phone bridge) Business-PKS Systems	Janet Davenport (representing Ron Heezen) Libraries-Omaha Public Libraries
Stu Miller Economic Development
MEMBERS ABSENT
Tyler French, Ameritrade	Ted Schultz, Nebraska Association of Hospitals
Gerry Kluch, Kaystar Seed, Inc.	Ann Stephens, Keene Memorial Library
Jim Lowe, Micro Systems	Clyde Tyndall, Indian Affairs
Russ Pankonin, Imperial Republican	Gary Warren, Hamilton Telecommunications
OTHERS PRESENT
Others Present: Max Thacker, UNMC; Roger Hahn, Nebraska Information Network; Anne Byers, Michael Winkle, Lori Lopez Urdiales, and Jen Soucie, Office of the CIO/NITC

CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING:

Co-chair, Donna Hammack, called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m. Roll call was taken. There were eight members present at time of roll call. Additional members were expected to arrive later. Official approval of the minutes was delayed until a quorum was present. Ms. Hammack stated that the meeting notice was posted to NITC and Public Calendar web sites on June 12th, 2000.

Mr. Kiel joined the meeting via the meet-me-bridge at 1:43 p.m.

PUBLIC COMMENT:

There was no public comment.

Mr. Hedquist joined the meeting via the meet-me-bridge at 1:45 p.m.

NITC UPDATE, Michael Winkle:

Mr. Winkle reported that the NITC approved the Government Technology Collaboration Fund grant recommendations of the State Government Council. Prototypes of the new NITC web site, NITC Clearinghouse and the State of Nebraska home page were presented to the Commissioners. The budget prioritization process was discussed and decided upon. The NITC Executive Director appointment was renewed for another year. The NITC will not meet again until November 6th for the biennium budget recommendations. It is anticipated that a December meeting will also be held.

Mr. Nolan arrived at 1:47 p.m.

Mr. Winkle provided a brief update on the TINA study. He encouraged members to read the North Dakota article that Ms. Byers sent out via email.

APPROVAL OF MAY 5TH MINUTES:

Mr. Hand moved to approve the May 5th meeting minutes as presented. Mr. Hedquist seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Hand-Yes, Hammack-Yes, Hedquist-Yes, Davenport-Yes, Kiel-Yes, Miller-Yes, Nolan-Yes, Saathoff-Yes, Schroeder-Yes, and Smith-Yes. Motion was carried. June's meeting was a working session thus no approval of minutes was necessary for June.

BUDGET PRIORITIZATION PROCESS, Michael Winkle:

Mr. Winkle explained that the process used to review and rate the Community Technology Fund and the Government Technology Collaboration Fund grants will be utilized for the biennium budget requests. Agency budget requests are due September 15th. Technical and programmatic reviews will be completed by October. The following process for biennium budget request recommendations was discussed and agreed upon by the NITC at their June 22nd meeting. Staff will compile project summaries and rating scores. The results will be forwarded to the relevant councils. It is anticipated that there will be 70-100 budgets to review. Each of the three councils will rank budget requests according to their priorities, resulting in three prioritized lists. The NITC requested that a joint review committee be made up of representatives from the three councils. The charge of the joint review committee will be to prioritize the three lists it into one list. The joint review committee's recommendations will be presented to the NITC for final prioritization and approval at their November 6th meeting.

CLEARINGHOUSE, Anne Byers:

The NITC is required by statute to develop an information technology clearinghouse. The following link was provided to council members to view the clearinghouse prototype www.nitc.state.ne.us/test. Input and suggestions were greatly encouraged. Ms. Byers requested that members provide resources to include in the clearinghouse. Members would like to have the ability to communicate with other community information technology committees from across the state. NITC staff will develop criteria for material to be included in the clearinghouse.

Mr. Sweeney arrived at 2:08 p.m.

PUBLIC ACCESS DATABASE, Jen Soucie, Summer Intern:

Ms. Soucie reported that the NITC has been working with the Library Commission to develop a database of public access sites. The Library Commission provided a base list of public libraries with public access. Ms. Soucie entered information from the base list. She also entered in information on additional public access sites located in Extension offices and Interlinc sites in Lancaster County. Currently, NOL is developing an administrative tool to be able to update and correct the data. A sample report was distributed to members. Suggestions and comments from the members included:

Contacting library and city administrators and asking them to print out a hard copy of the list to inform persons without access of public access locations.
Utilizing visitors bureaus, city administrators, chambers of commerce, kiosks, hotel/motels, groceries to inform the public about these sites.
Utilizing the information to determine how many are eligible for USF.
Providing the ability for sites to update their information.
Council should discuss minimum requirements for public access points (i.e., speed recommendations, etc. )

Ms. Byers distributed a working draft of the proposed "Public Access Site Database Policies and Procedures" to members for review. Members were encouraged to provide input as soon as possible.

COMMUNITY TRAINING, Anne Byers:

Ms. Byers reported that she is developing a white paper on the need for community IT training. Discussion followed regarding awareness of the issue and the need to involve key stake holders, including local government officials, state senators, policy makers, and community colleges. A suggestion was made to make a presentation on this issue at the legislative working session held in November. A meeting with the League of Municipalities and State Chamber of is being scheduled. Senators Wehrbein and Wickersham have expressed interest in this issue.

After discussion, the Council agreed to review the white paper that is being developed by staff and to provide input and examples of best practices, as well as examples of businesses or industries leaving community due to IT needs.

Mr. Hedquist left the meeting at 3:28 p.m.

NEW BUSINESS:

There was no new business.

NEXT MEETING DATE AND LOCATION:

The next meeting of the Community Council will be held on Friday, August 4th, 1:30 p.m. at the Kearney Public Library and Information Center in Kearney, Nebraska. There will be no September meeting. The October meeting will be held in Lincoln.

ADJOURN:

Ms. Saathoff moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Smith seconded the motion. All were in favor. Motion was carried by voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 3:35 p.m.

Minutes taken by Lori Lopez Urdiales, Administrative Assistant and reviewed by Anne Byers, Community Information Technology Manager, Office of the CIO/NITC.

Meeting Minutes