Agenda - 11-18-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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15 1 service routes calls by dialing dedicated telephone numbers followed by a pass code to process 2 the call. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 We also propose that each Commissioner and County Manager's staff be registered with the Wireless Priority System (WPS), which is a fee based service (about $5 per device per month) that gives wireless phones priority access to cell towers. In addition, WPS and GETS can be used jointly if the need arises. Jim Groves handed out GETS cards to the Commissioners. He said this card can be used dialing a 710 area code before the number you are calling. He said you would then enter a pin that will increase your opportunity to get through when lines are congested. He said it will not help if infrastructure is damaged or down. He said the system will not knock off callers already on the phone, but it will place the call in a que with priority status. Jim Groves asked if the Commissioners want to pursue the Wireless Priority Service. Commissioner Price asked if the GETS card is active now and if it can go from cell phones to land lines. Jim Groves answered yes. He said a cell phone or land line can be used to go through the GETS line. He said if you use a mobile device, it has to hit the cell tower, and this may not be possible without the WPS. Commissioner Dorosin asked for clarification on scenarios where the Board would need this. He said he is not the person that needs to get through to coordinate rescue efforts during an emergency. Jim Groves said this is for use in the case of a major malfunction that affects a lot of residents in Orange County. He said in this case, he and the manager would be asking the Commissioners to interface with constituents to find out areas of unmet needs. He said this information will be useful in helping allocate resources. Jim Groves said the next piece to consider is a scenario where you are unable to meet in a public place to do County business. He said one option is to use a conference line that would even allow the public to dial in and listen. He said it would be possible to have access to about 50 lines, and this could be done using the existing County infrastructure or a third party vendor. He asked for input on how many lines would be needed for public access. Commissioner Rich asked if these lines would be needed so that it could still be considered an open meeting. She asked how the public would know the Board is meeting. Jim Groves said the Public Affairs Office would be responsible for pushing this information out to the public. Chair Jacobs said the bigger the crisis, the more people who will want to know what is going on. He said this makes it hard to determine how many lines would be needed. Jim Groves agreed. He said one option is to use some of the existing television and community broadcasting stations. He said these are other ways to make it accessible to the public. Chair Jacobs said there was an instance several years ago of a fire in Cary, and residents were told to shelter inside. He said people in this case have to rely on a television station, but there is no 24 hour television station in rural Orange County. He said the Board would be the 24 hours news entity for the residents. Jim Groves said the most accessible way would be the conference call option. He said most residents have a telephone, but not everyone has cable or internet access. Chair Jacobs said part of this concerns what the Board has adopted as the rules of procedure. He said this would need to be addressed with the attorney. Chair Jacobs said there are scenarios that would require the Board to meet without doing so in person.