TECHNICAL PANEL

Nebraska Information Technology Commission

Wednesday, October 9, 2002, 9:00 a.m.

Varner Hall-Regents Board Room

3835 Holdrege, Lincoln, Nebraska

MINUTES

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Walter Weir, University of Nebraska

Steve Henderson, IMServices, State of Nebraska (alternate for Brenda Decker)

Christy Horn, University of Nebraska, Compliance Officer

Steve Schafer, Chief Information Officer, State of Nebraska

Kirk Langer, Lincoln Public Schools, K-12 Representative

Mike Beach, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission

CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, AND MEETING NOTICE

Mr. Weir called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. Six members were present at the time of roll call. A quorum existed to conduct official business. Mr. Weir stated that the meeting notice was posted to the NITC and Nebraska Public Meeting Calendar web sites on September 13, 2002 and that the meeting agenda was posted to the NITC Website on October 3, 2002.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2002 MINUTES

Steve Schafer noted a grammatical error in the minutes.

Mr. Henderson moved to approve the September 11, 2002 meeting minutes as changed. Mr. Schafer seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Beach- Yes, Henderson-Yes, Horn-Yes, Langer-Yes, Schafer-Yes, and Weir-Yes. All were in favor and motioned carried.

LB 833 UPDATE (PDF 142k) – Wayne Fisher

Wayne Fisher gave a report detailing the Distance Education Network Completion (DENC) Grant Install Status in Year 1. Mr. Fisher reported that all equipment is in place at all schools and referred to a document that included information about the installs, including school district, consortium name, equipment, installation cost, and connectivity cost.

PROJECT REVIEWS

STATE RECORDS BOARD GRANT APPLICATIONS - Board of Public Accountancy (PDF 403k)

Mr. Schafer provided background information about e-licensing stating that the ultimate goal is an enterprise approach. Members agreed that the proposal for an on-line process was a good idea; however a judgment on the technical aspects cannot be passed because of the lack of narrative information on the these aspects of the project.

Mr. Schafer moved to have the Technical Panel make the following findings:

• The project is technically feasible.
• The application does not provide sufficient information to determine if the proposed technology is appropriate for the project. Any technical solution should conform to the on-line licensing approach being coordinated by the Office of the CIO.
• The technical elements can be accomplished within the proposed time frame. There is insufficient information to determine if the budget is appropriate.

Mr. Beach seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Beach- Yes, Henderson-Yes, Horn-Yes, Langer-Yes, Schafer-Yes, and Weir-Yes. All were in favor and motioned carried.

FY2003-05 BIENNIAL BUDGET REQUESTS - Approval of project reviewers (PDF 40k)

Mr. Weir reported that Donna Liss is no longer with the University of Nebraska, therefore will not be among the potential project reviews for FY2003-05 Biennial Budget. It was suggested that Rick Haugerud be added to the list of reviewers. Mr. Becker stated that the individuals listed have done reviews in the past and would be willing to do them again this year. Mr. Wier suggested drafting a letter stating that the individual has been nominated as a potential grant reviewer. Mr. Becker will draft the letter and send to all reviewers.

Dr. Horn moved to accept the list of reviewers as changed. Mr. Weir seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Beach- Yes, Henderson-Yes, Horn-Yes, Langer-Yes, Schafer-Yes, and Weir-Yes. All were in favor and motioned carried.

STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES – SET FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Schafer reported that the Disaster Recovery Planning Procedures (PDF 181k) document has been a working draft for almost three months. Please note that currently, this is a guideline, not a standard, therefore adherence is voluntary. Mr. Schafer stated that with the Tech Panel’s approval, he could take to NITC in November for a formal review after a 30-day public comment period. This document could be given to State Government Agencies as they form their disaster recovery plan.

Mr. Becker stated that each agency who submitted a 2002 Agency IT Plan were asked to indicate if they had a disaster recovery plan, however they were not asked to submit the plan.

Mr. Schafer moved that the document be set for a 30-day public comment period. Mr. Henderson seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Beach- Yes, Henderson-Yes, Horn-Yes, Langer-Yes, Schafer-Yes, and Weir-Yes. All were in favor and motioned carried.

WORK GROUP CHARTERS

DISCUSSION: STATEWIDE SYNCHRONOUS VIDEO NETWORK WORKGROUP - Draft Work Group Charter (PDF 94k)

Mr. Beach reported that the next step is to deal with issues of inoperability. Mr. Beach agreed to take on this task. Mr. Becker will send the Word version of the charter to Mr. Beach. The charter will be on the agenda for the next meeting.

DISCUSSION: NETWORK ARCHITECTURE WORK GROUP - Current Charter (PDF 41k)

Ms. Decker was not present at the meeting; therefore this item will be on the next meeting agenda.

REPEAL: VIDEO STANDARDS WORK GROUP - Charter (PDF 217k)

Mr. Beach moved to repeal the charter. Mr. Schafer seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Beach- Yes, Henderson-Yes, Horn-Yes, Langer-Yes, Schafer-Yes, and Weir-Yes. All were in favor and motioned carried.

REGULAR INFORMATION ITEMS AND WORK GROUP UPDATES

Wireless Project – Steve Schafer/Brenda Decker
Mr. Schafer reported that the Alliance met again and viewed presentations by vendors who bid on the wireless project.

Network Architecture Work Group / NETCOM
Ms. Decker was not at the meeting to give an update. Mr. Weir made the suggestion to invite key stakeholders and have a brain storming session to work on a strategy for this project. He asked Rick Golden to invite the contacts from MOREnet to a meeting to occur after the next Technical Panel meeting.

Security Architecture Work Group
Mr. Schafer reported that the external extrusion test RFP has been issued. Responses are due November 8, 2002. Mr. Weir showed interest in the work group and would be interested in being on the vendor selection team. Currently, the work group is working on security awareness aimed at the general user. Security Awareness Training is being offered online to agencies. Jerry Hielen of IMServices is the person to contact with questions about the Web-based training.

Accessibility Architecture Work Group
Dr. Horn was happy to report that the state was awarded a $1,000,000 grant. Dr. Horn distributed a document describing the goals of the project.

NIS
Mr. Schafer reported that the NIS project is running readiness assessments. October 15 was the implementation date for some Human Resource functions. November 4 is the date for financial elements, however this date will probably be moved back slightly. The payroll aspect will be examined on January 1, 2003.

Technical Panel Action Plan (PDF 110k)
Mr. Beach suggested changing the wording on TP 2.1 from “to be determined” to “varies" or "multiple” for the lead.

OTHER BUSINESS

Dennis Linster from Wayne State briefed the members about recent developments in Wayne, Nebraska. Currently, Wayne State College is talking with the mayor and the City Administrator about connectivity with the community. Wayne has nine separate buildings used for government and city business that are not connected to the Internet. Wayne State College is trying to show some leadership and develop a model that would allow the college to serve as an access point for city government. The college would provide access using wireless capabilities from a high-rise dormitory on campus.

The local public library has voiced its support for the model. In theory, the college would be the backbone for city buildings, county court house and others. The college could absorb them into their network without complications. In short, Wayne would be helping out the community for a minimal cost with a secure solution.

Members suggested that Mr. Linster organize the concept into a document that outlines the participating parties, key stakeholders, goals, technical issues and other information. Mr. Linster agreed to prepare a document to be shared at the next panel meeting.

NEXT MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT

The next meeting is Friday November 8, 2002. The meeting will begin at 8:00 a.m. in the City Campus Union. A meeting with representatives from MOREnet will be scheduled immediately after the regular meeting.

Mr. Schafer moved to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Horn seconded the motion. All were in favor. Meeting adjourned.

Minutes were taken by Jen Soucie Kitt of the CIO’s and reviewed by Rick Becker, Government IT Manager.

Meeting Minutes