Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 26 16 MinutesCommunications and Technology Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes January 5, 2016 1. Call to order/Roll call Dave Elbon called the meeting to order. Roll Call: Brett Anderson ············· Present Jim Anderson ················ Present Don Breidenbach ·········· Present Erik Juhl ························ Absent Jessica Weber ··············· Present Annette Thompson ······· Present Dave Elbon ···················· Present 2. Approval of minutes The minutes were corrected to show Don as Vice Chair. Motion by Don, 2nd by Jim 3. Old business A. No Old Business 4. New business A. Presentation by Larry Poppler on new building permit software Larry Poppler explained the system they are using was designed by an IT person using Microsoft Access as the database. His presentation consisted of 21 Power Point slides that can be found in the CTAC folder in the document center. Two different software options were compared. He explained that current system is more than 10 years old and has limited functionality. Also, the computer this software resides on is nearing its end of life which means security updates will no longer be supported. Larry played some short videos showing how the BS & A software worked. Staff is recommending the BS&A software because of cost and the finance department recently purchased BS&A so the two systems should work together well. After the presentation Annette asked what constitutes a parcel: single family home vs. townhome vs. apartment building Annette asked about the permitting process and how it differs from inspections Brett wanted to make sure there was no third party involved. Larry assured him there were no third parties. Don asked about upgrades and Larry said they are included in the cost Brett asked if the information entered for the building permit would automatically be update with the finance system. Lynda Allen said that wa s one of the great functions with this new software. She explained that currently they have to enter the same information three or four times. Now they only will have to do it once and it can generate form letters when necessary. Jessica asked if staff felt comfortable with the navigation. Lynda said they tried both types of software at other cities and were comfortable with them. Annette wanted to make sure there was another process for people who were not tech savvy and did not want to use the new software. Larry said they were not going to force anyone to use the software and there is a computer at the front desk to help people learn it. Jim asked if it was customizable and Larry said yes and so are the reports. Brett Anderson agreed with staff’s recommendation and likes that it is the same software as finance. Don agreed and said another good feature is the cost is fixed going forward. He then asked about customer service and Lynda replied the City of Hutchinson says it is almost immediate. Jim asked if the server maintenance has been factored into the cost and Larry said yes The committee as a whole acknowledged the team that researched the software did thei r due diligence, the software is clearly needed and are comfortable with staff’s recommendation. 5. Adjournment Jim moved to adjourn, Jessica seconded, and meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.