Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020/02/12 - ADMIN - Agenda Packets - Community Technology Advisory Commission - Regular AGENDA COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY COMMISSION WESTWOOD ROOM 6 P.M. FEB. 12, 2020 1. Call to order – roll call 2. Adoption of agenda 3. Public comment 4. Racial equity presentation (Alicia Sojourner) – one hour 5. Approval of minutes a. December 10, 2019 6. Communications from the chair/commissioners 7. Staff items a. Smart cities workshop planning b. Update on cable franchise renewal i. January focus group recap ii. Online survey c. Feb. 24 annual commission meeting 8. Adjourn If you cannot attend the meet ing please contact Jacque Smith: jsmith@stlouispark.org or 952.924.2632 by 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11. Community Technology Advisory Commission Dec. 10, 2019 (no quorum so no official business was conducted) 1. Call to order – roll call Meeting started 6:34 p.m. Present: Bruce Browning, Abe Levine, Mohamed Mohamud, Clint Pires, Jacque Smith Absent: Cindy Hoffman, Maren Anderson, Rolf Peterson, Theo Pohlen (David Dyer has resigned from the commission.) 2. Adoption of agenda - Agenda adopted as presented 3. Public comment – no members of the public were in attendance 4. Welcome Theo Pohlen, youth member – Theo was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict. 5. Approval of minutes - Members in attendance approved the Oct. 30, 2019, minutes as presented. 6. 2020 meeting calendar – dates approved of Feb. 12, May 13, Aug. 12, Nov. 10 7. Expectations for 2020 - Levine said expectations are to attend meetings and participate in work of the commission. 8. Committees a. Community engagement committee Browning said the items from the visioning process didn’t speak directly to this work, but many of the items include it such as quality of life. The survey was discussed. Browning contacted The Nest and met with city racial equity staff with the goal of understanding how to get input from people of color in the community. Ideas included participating in popup events, coffee shops, Yum Bakery, Hamilton House. In regards to the survey, Browning likes the idea of something more general; however, it still has to be about technology. Mohamed said that if we let the public drive activities, we will get lost and be chasing things. It would be better if we develop something and put it out for people to react to. Clint said we can push a framework and also listen to the community, then meld the two things. Abe suggested a small group meet to discuss these ideas in an evening and asked for availability the week of Dec. 16. No responses. b. Technical committee formation (SmartCities) Pires talked about the idea of presenting information about Smart Cities-what they are, what activities make sense for St. Louis Park, etc. He suggested bringing in professionals for a workshop to help us frame it and understand the right questions to ask the community. Smart Cities is about more than technology-it’s about improving quality of life. Council strategic priorities like climate action and affordable housing may be categories under Smart Cities. At the end of the workshop, we should be able to identify some Smart City activities and have a toolkit with which to pursue other activities. He agreed with Mohamed that there are ideas the public won’t think of; but we might miss items as well so input and expertise could perhaps be blended. Information is coming from the Smart Cities Council about a one-day workshop, but it was very costly. Clint contacted another organization today about hosting a workshop among St. Louis Park and other cities, especially bordering cities. It’s really about smart regions, not just smart cities. Levine agreed the workshop would be a good first step. Mohamed asked about awareness. Does the average resident know about these concepts like smart light bulbs, etc. We may need to provide some information so they can make a better choice. Pires suggested that Smart Cities becomes a focus for 2020. Members liked the idea of a multi-city partnership or group. Cities mentioned included Edina, Golden Valley, Hopkins and Minnetonka. Mohamed asked about a timeline on a workshop; Pires said first quarter of 2020 would be realistic. Browning asked if we knew what other cities were doing along this line. Pires said he’s in touch from an IT side but doesn’t see anything coherent going on; however a number of cities have done automated meter reading (AMR) which from an operational perspective is a smart city activity as well as a best practice. So the question is how can we do these best practice projects to benefit the community as well as the organization. Levine said he spoke to the League of Minnesota Cities and learned St. Louis Park is the only one with a technology commission. Pires said this direction may get the commission out of the “circle of frustration” commission members have been experiencing over the past few months. Commission members can help with planning for the workshop which will be a full day activity. Levine said action item is to see what happens with smart cities workshop. Pires said we may need to find a way to get approval from the commission at an official meeting. Levine said it would be great if we could have something scheduled before the joint commission/council meeting in February. 9. Staff Items Staff provided information on research on Zencity. Pires said he’s attending an IT government symposium later this week and will see if he can learn more. Smith presented some information on cable franchise renewal and the needs assessment. She asked commission members to attend January focus groups and to encourage others to attend. Pires talked about a new application that will allow GIS mapping of trail plowing so users can see which trails are plowed. This will be a pilot. He said Fort Collins, Colo. has done this for their streets. Clint said this is an experiment hopefully to be deployed in January. Levine suggested an app that’s being used for the trucking industry with cameras facing forward and back; he suggested rear facing cameras on the plows that could be uploaded so people could see the condition of the trails. Pires said that might be an add-on later. 10. Communications from the chair/commissioners – none 11. Adjourn – meeting concluded 7:31 p.m.