Telecommunications Commission September 12, 2016

Agenda

1. Call to order.
2. Roll call.
3. Public comment for items not on the agenda.
4. Staff report.
5. Mission statement.
6. Community event support policy.
7. Community bench marking survey.
8. Approval of minutes.
9. Old business.
   1. Smartphone app.
   2. Telecommunications commission ordinance.
10. New business.
    1. Formats for video providers.
    2. Foreign language discussion.
11. Next meeting date.

Minutes

1. Call to order.

Hoffman called the meeting to order at 6 p.m.

2. Roll call.

Present were commissioners Hoffman, Arnold, Gattas, Wells and Fields. Also present: Nick Bergus, Jillian Miller and Stefan Juran.

3. Public comment for items not on the agenda.

There was none.

4. Staff report.

Bergus discussed ongoing playback server implementation and training and upcoming staff turnover. Miller discussed the success of Porchfest.

5. Mission statement.

Staff proposed a departmental mission statement: “The mission of the Communications Department is to publicize community information, be a catalyst for community cohesion and promote engagement in North Liberty.” After discussion, the commission approved the statement.

6. Community event support policy.

Staff proposed a departmental policy setting guidelines for selecting community events the office would offer support, and spelling out what types of support the office would provide. After discussion, the commission asked staff to spell out events the department would not be able to support, such as for-profit, political and individual fundraiser events, as well as to add a preamble that better framed the policy.

7. Community bench marking survey.

The commission discussed the various ways to approach a “community bench marking survey”: including what areas of satisfaction to look at, what benchmarks to compare North Liberty with and what a reasonable budget would be. Hoffman would research what other municipalities have done and report back at the next meeting.

8. Approval of minutes.

Wells moved, Gattas seconded, to approve the minutes of the July 11, 2016, meeting. It passed with all in favor.

9. Old business.
   1. Smartphone app.

Bergus reported that the app was still broken, and, while he was still in contact with the vendor, MyCommuityMobile, the company was slow to fix the app. Bergus discussed possible options, including continuing to work with the same vendor, working with a new vendor, or ceasing support for an app. After discussion, the commission agreed that the ceasing app support was the best path forward.

1. Telecommunications commission ordinance.

Bergus said he was marking up the current ordinance and would consult with the city attorney.

10. New business.
    1. Formats for video providers.

Bergus noted that the new video automation server no longer ingested DVDs, and staff wanted to require, after a reasonable transition time, the three providers of DVDs to begin providing digital files of their videos for NLTV playback. Staff would information on how to make that transition to program providers and offer reasonable support.

1. Foreign language discussion.

Staff discussed ways to offer additional language support. After discussion, staff will pursue offering certain webpages and printed materials, such as those for new residents, in multiple languages, focusing first on Spanish.

11. Next meeting date.

The next meeting was set for Oct. 3, 2016, at 6 p.m.

At 7:06 p.m., Arnold moved, and Gattas seconded, to adjourn, with all voting in favor.

Videos