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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 05/16/2000 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRATR E CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP/FORUM TUESDAY,MAY 169 2000 5:00-6:55 PM, CITY CENTER HERITAGE ROOM III CITY COUNCIL: Councilmembers Sherry Butcher,Ronald Case and Nancy Tyra-Lukens CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Chris Enger, Parks & Recreation Services Director Bob Lambert, Public Safety Director Jim Clark, Public Works Services Director Eugene Dietz, Community Development and Financial Services Director Don Uram, Communications Coordinator Jodi Hogue, IT Coordinator Mike Hutter and Recorder Lorene McWaters I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER—MAYOR JEAN HARRIS Acting Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens called the meeting to order at 5:25 p.m. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA III. TECHNOLOGY A. TOUCHTONE REGISTRATION IT Coordinator Mike Hutter reported touchtone registration was implemented March 27,2000, and that 31 percent of Parks &Recreation class registration has been processed via touchtone. Councilmember Nancy Tyra-Lukens asked if this is consistent with other communities that offer touchtone registration. Hutter said it is a little lower than others. City Manager Chris Enger pointed out the lower number may be due in part to difficulties with the phone line when it was first installed. Hutter also pointed out that it is not currently possible to register for swimming or skating lessons via touchtone because the cost for these lessons is different depending on whether or not the registrant is a Community Center member. Hutter stated that the City plans to purchase a program module to handle these types of registrations at some future date. B. UTILITY BILLING Community Development and Financial Services Director Don Uram stated that of 17,000 utility billing accounts, 1,231 are being paid via ACH(the auto- checking payment option). This accounts for five percent of utility revenues. D. CAD AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES May 16, 2000 Page 2 Public Safety Director Jim Clark reported that all records have been converted to the new records management system. Clark said CAD (computer-aided dispatch) system administrative training will be complete by June and the full system will be up and running by July. Clark stated that the system allows police officers to run local records while in the street and to write reports from their squad cars. Connection of the system to Hennepin County is pending. The auto locater system automatically assigns squad cars that are closest to incoming calls for faster reponse. Clark reported that the map system is not yet installed. Tyra-Lukens asked what the map system will do. Clark answered that it will provide map overlays. In conjunction with GIS,the system would provide locations of everything down to the fire hydrant level. B. WATER PLANT FIBER CONNECTION Fiber optic installation was completed March 15, 2000, and hardware was installed and tested in late April. The Maintenance Facility switched from T1 to fiber on May 9 and the Water Plant was connect to the network via fiber on May 10. E. PRESENTATION BY COUNCILMEMBER CASE Councilmember Ron Case noted that Eden Prairie is already technologically out in front. He cited the new HR/Logis finance system,touchtone registration for recreation activities,the City's interactive web site,the fiber connections between City buildings, and Time/Warner's new Road Runner high speed internet service. Case said the push toward e-government is being driven by the rapidly expanding internet economy and the growing number of citizens with access to the Web. Case provided an overview of his December trip to the National League of Cities Conference in Los Angeles. Case said he attended all of the technology workshops at the conference and was overwhelmed and impressed by what other government bodies are doing with technology. Case stated he would cover the following topics addressed at the conference workshops: e-service opportunities, e-democracy issues, and e-council options. Case cautioned that if e-connectivity threatens to eliminate the representative process, as some at the conference conjectured,the Council needs to get in front of the movement. Lukens asked what other communities are doing in relation to e-connectivity. Case stated that some communities have conducted town hall meetings that allow individuals to attend in person, call in questions and comments, or participate on- line. Councilmember Sherry Butcher noted that e-connectivity could allow those who can't physically access City Hall to be involved in the government process. Case stated that some cities are acting as internet providers,which allows them to control some of the content disseminated to subscribers. However, Case said he feels the City has skipped beyond this possibility because people can't be forced to subscribe to such a service. COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES May 16,2000 Page 3 Case presented several questions regarding e-democracy for the Council to ponder for future discussion: 1. Are there ways the Council should be taking advantage of the internet's instant response potential? 2. How accessible are/can/should Councilmembers be to the public? As an example of citizen connectivity to government, City Manager Chris Enger spoke about the City's recent experiences with the Boulder Pointe Homeowners Association. Approximately 95 percent of the Association's members are connected to the internet. They have developed a website to distribute information in lieu of a neighborhood newsletter. Enger said the website functions somewhat like a radio station for residents, since they are able to communicate on a much more timely basis. When the Association had concerns about a proposed cell tower in the neighborhood,they used their website to get timely information to the neighborhood and to communicate with City staff quickly. The Association posted an action plan on the website and created a chat room for residents to offer opinions. Enger pointed out that the Association's use of the website speeded up communications by up to two weeks,but also required City staff to drop other work to respond quickly to the issues. Enger also noted that this type of use of the Internet seems to be resulting in new citizen expectations of instant, one-on-one interaction with government staff. Clark stated that he has also met with Steve Borsch of the Boulder Pointe Homeowners Association to discuss ways to use their website to put out neighborhood watch bulletins more quickly and less expensively. Case pointed out that the internet's instant response potential could be used in a town forum format. Butcher stated that she would like the City Attorney's to provide insight into liability issues. She wondered if the entire Council could be held accountable for the comments of one member. Tyra-Lukens stated that the Council and Staff shouldn't be afraid of the new technology. She stated that it is a matter of becoming familiar with its possibilities and limitations. Case stated that almost everyone at the conference he attended had their own e- mail address. He stated that everyone is doing it, "so the answer is not to not do it,but to figure out how to do it." Enger stated that he thought the e-mail issue had been discussed previously and that e-mail addresses could be set up for the council in Groupwise. Case said he didn't believe a conclusion had been reached. Enger further noted that remote access to Groupwise thus far has been"iffy"at best. Case stated that Eden Prairie is behind other cities, and that some provide laptop computers,personal digital assistants, and cell phones to Councilmembers to ensure they are accessible to each other. Case stated that there should be a minimum level of connectedness for Councilmembers, and that he could really use a laptop with which to communicate. Enger noted that City Attorney Ric Rosow has raised liability issues related to providing Councilmembers with laptop computers, since they may also be put to personal use. Enger stated that his cell phone has two lines, one for City business and one for personal use. COUNCIL WORKSHOP MINUTES May 16, 2000 Page 4 Case asked how much interest the other Councilmembers have in increasing connectivity and how they might use tools such as cell phones. Tyra-Lukens said 80 percent of her personal cell phone use is for City business. Butcher said that having to carry a separate cell phone for City use would be burdensome. Enger brought up the possibility of providing the Council with desktop computers at home and in the Council Chamber. Enger pointed out that laptop computers cost twice as much as desktop models,work more slowly, and do not perform as well. Tyra-Lukens stated that communicating via e-mail allows for more detailed messaging. Public Works Services Director Gene Dietz stated that it can take quite a bit of time to answer even a short e-mail. Enger pointed out that there are pros and cons to increasing the use availability of technology to City Council members. Issues of expense,technical support,remote access,implications to staff level,record management, data practices and open meeting law need to be carefully considered. Regarding e-packets for council meetings,Enger noted that past feedback from Councilmembers has been to use them to augment the City's traditional paper packet. Councilmember Butcher said that a benefit of an e-packet would be to reduce the sheer bulk of the paper packet. She envisions an"e-appendix"that could be electronically distributed. IV. OTHER BUSINESS A. SUMMER WORKSHOP SCHEDULE Enger noted that the first July council meeting would fall on the 4th of July holiday. All present agreed that meeting should be cancelled and does not need to be rescheduled. The July council meeting will be on July 18. The Councilmembers also agreed to hold a follow-up technology workshop on July 18. Councilmembers Case,Tyra-Lukens and Butcher agreed to hold other Council Workshops during the summer on an as-needed basis. V. ADJOURNMENT Acting Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m.