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NEBRASKA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION
Monday, May 1, 2006, 1:30 p.m.
Videoconference Sites:
Nebraska Educational Telecommunications-Board Room, 1800 N 33rd Street, Lincoln, Nebraska
Chadron State College, Student Center-Scottsbluff Room, 10th & Main, Chadron, Nebraska
University of Nebraska-Kearney, Communications Center Bldg-Room 250, Kearney, Nebraska
Panhandle Learning Center-High Plains Room, 4502 Avenue I, Scottsbluff, Nebraska

MINUTES

 

Call to order, roll call
Lt. Governor Sheehy called the meeting to order at 1:35pm. The meeting notice was posted to the NITC Web site on March 6, 2006 and Public Meeting Calendar Web site on March 27, 2006.  The meeting agenda was posted to the NITC Web site on April 24, 2006.

Roll call: Lt. Governor Sheehy-Yes, Pat Flanagan-Yes, Trev Peterson-Yes, Dan Hoesing-Yes, Mike Huggenberger-Yes, Lance Hedquist-Yes, Janie Park-Yes. Seven commissioners were present and a quorum existed to perform official business.

The Lt. Governor began with a recognition of the departing NITC Commissioners: Dr. Douglas Christensen, Nebraska Department of Education; Mayor Greg Adams of York; Dr. Eric Brown, KRVN Radio; and L. Merill Bryan, Union Pacific. The commissioners represent a combined 32 years of service to the State of Nebraska. Lt. Governor Sheehy presented Commissioner Christensen and Mr. Bryan with their recognition plaques.
                       
The Lt. Governor introduced the new NITC commissioners: Lance Hedquist, City Administrator for South Sioux City; Mike Huggenberger, Great Plains Communications; Dr. Dan Hoesing of Coleridge/Newcastle Public Schools; and Pat Flanagan, of Mutual of Omaha.

Approval of January 27, 2006 NITC Minutes*

Trev Peterson moved to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Pat Flanagan. There were no corrections or discussion. Roll call: Lt. Governor Sheehy-Yes, Pat Flanagan-Yes, Trev Peterson-Yes, Dan Hoesing-Yes, Mike Huggenberger-Yes, Lance Hedquist-Yes, Janie Park-Yes. Motion was approved.

Lt. Governor Sheehy invited public comment. There was no public comment.

General Updates & Discussion—Brenda Decker

Brenda Decker gave a brief overview of each of the bills recently passed by the Nebraska Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

·         LB 921 charges the Chief Information Officer with providing oversight for the Division of Communications and the Information Management Services Division within the Department of Administrative Services.
·         LB 1061 creates the Nebraska Public Safety Communication System Cash Fund and the Nebraska Public Safety Communication System Revolving Fund.
·         LB 1208 would implement the recommendations of the Distance Education Enhancement Task Force. LB 1208 gives the Chief Information Officer new responsibilities for establishing a master contract for purchasing equipment, providing access to Network Nebraska for education entities, and developing a system for billing based on actual costs. Also, the NITC Technical Panel must approve purchases of the Distance Education Council that exceed $10,000.
·         LB 1222 change provisions of the Emergency Telephone Communications Systems Act and the Enhanced Wireless 911 Services Act. The Public Service Commission is charged with the responsibility to administer this system. The monthly surcharge increases from fifty cents to a cap of seventy cents per month.
·         LB 645 created the Broadband Services Task Force to examine issues related to the provision of broadband services by public providers. The Lt. Governor elaborated on the seven policy points being discussed by the Task Force and provided an overview of the Task Force membership. Commissioner Huggenberger encouraged the Task Force to consider new and emerging technologies when making their recommendations.

Proposed New NITC Web Site - Lt. Governor Sheehy recognized and commended Sam Fifer for his work on the new NITC Web site. Brenda Decker gave an overview of the site. All three Councils and the Technical Panel have reviewed and made suggestions on the content and navigability. The anticipated deployment date should be by June 1, 2006. Ms. Decker invited additional input from the commissioners.

Reports and Action Items from the Councils and Technical Panel

A. Community Council Report - Anne Byers reported that meetings have been held with the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and Division of Travel and Tourism to discuss developing a project which would help Nebraska communities develop podcasts promoting local attractions and events.

B. Education Council Report - Tom Rolfes gave the Education Council report.

C. State Government Council Report - Rick Becker reported that the State Government Council has been working on government services restoration priorities and timelines; developing standards and guidelines; revising the agency information technology plan form; and continued work on shared services.

D. Technical Panel Report - Walter Weir gave background information and explained the rationale for standards currently before the commission.

1.  Standards & Guidelines:  Network Edge Device Standard for Entities Choosing to Connect to Network Nebraska *

Commissioner Huggenberger asked about manageability standards, EIGRP, and other routing protocols. Senator Erdman asked about the concern of schools affording equipment compliance with Network Nebraska. Commissioner Park asked about the cost cap for the edge devices.

Pat Flanagan moved to approve the “Network Edge Device Standard for Entities Choosing to Connect to Network Nebraska.” Trev Peterson seconded the motion. Roll call: Lt. Governor Sheehy-Yes, Pat Flanagan-Yes, Trev Peterson-Yes, Dan Hoesing-Yes, Mike Huggenberger-Yes, Lance Hedquist-Yes, Janie Park-Yes, Motion was approved.

2.  Standards & Guidelines:  Scheduling Standard for Synchronous Distance Learning and Videoconferencing*

Commissioner Park asked if the CIO would be looking at commercial or homegrown products. Mr. Weir responded that all options will be considered. Commissioner Flanagan asked if such a product exists. Mr. Weir responded that several products do a majority part of the standard’s requirements. Ms. Decker added that the new Distance Education Council will be doing the actual purchasing of the system that affects K-12, and that each subsequent sub-sector could also buy in with their respective purchasing authority. Commissioner Park asked about the respective timeline of the establishment of the software.

Trev Peterson moved to approve the “Scheduling Standard for Synchronous Distance Learning and Videoconferencing.” Lance Hedquist seconded the motion. Roll call: Lt. Governor Sheehy-Yes, Pat Flanagan-Yes, Trev Peterson-Yes, Dan Hoesing-Yes, Mike Huggenberger-Yes, Lance Hedquist-Yes, Janie Park-Yes, Motion was approved.

New Business

Steve Henderson shared that the NITC and Office of the CIO will be partnering with Southeast Community College to put on a Cyber-security Conference in Lincoln on May 24. All Commissioners are invited to attend.

Brenda Decker gave a brief overview of the information technology project review and budgeting process. Mr. Weir will be presenting a portfolio planning instrument at the next NITC meeting in August, which will be closely followed by the budget review process.

The Lt. Governor again thanked the new commissioners for attending and announced that the next meeting date will be sometime in early August. After the meeting, Commissioners were invited to tour the University of Nebraska’s mobile computer lab, the Business Information Technology Mobile (BIT Mobile).

The meeting was adjourned at 2:43pm.

 

Meeting Minutes