Orange County NC Website
16 <br />1 Jim Groves said phone conference and web conference are the basic options. He said <br />2 the top tier would be to have a dedicated video conference, and this could be fully controllable. <br />3 He said this would require a dedicated line to each of the Commissioners, the attorney, and the <br />4 clerk. He said he did an estimate of 10 dedicated lines. He said these systems, called <br />5 polycoms or Cisco, range from $2,000 to $16,000. He priced a middle of the line $6,500 <br />6 polycom for 10 lines, which came out to $65,000. He said the internet pipeway required for <br />7 each line would be and the lines would be $700 a month, which comes out to $89,000 per year. <br />8 He said this brings the total startup cost of $149,000 and then an annual cost of $84,000. <br />9 Commissioner McKee said he does not feel good about spending that type of money on <br />10 video conferencing that would only be used for rare occurrences. <br />11 Commissioner Price asked for clarification on the conference line. She asked what <br />12 would be discussed in a conference call. She wondered if the general public needs to listen in <br />13 if there is an emergency situation and the Board is trying to determine a course of action. She <br />14 questioned whether the Board can meet in closed session by telephone. She is concerned that <br />15 there may be mayhem. <br />16 Chair Jacobs said there is no need to have public comment in this case. He said these <br />17 calls may be updates from the Emergency Service Director, or the Health Director, and the line <br />18 would just allow the public access. He said once four or more of the Commissioners get on a <br />19 phone call, it is a public meeting, and the public would need to have access even if they do not <br />20 participate. He gave examples of situations where information may need to be shared to make <br />21 decisions about how the County should operate. <br />22 John Roberts said it is okay to have a conference call meeting, and the Board would <br />23 need to amend their procedures to address this. <br />24 Chair Jacobs said the call could also be recorded and made available to members of the <br />25 public who were not able to be on. <br />26 Donna Baker said she would work with the County Attorney's office to update the Board <br />27 of County Commissioners' procedures manual to reflect polices on meeting by conference call. <br />28 Commissioner Rich said she received this information in the strategic communications <br />29 meeting. She said the opinion was that the video call was overkill, but the communications <br />30 team did like the idea of the Commissioners being able to have a meeting in the event of an <br />31 emergency. <br />32 Commissioner Gordon asked how emergency communications fit into the overall <br />33 strategic plan. She said it would be good to contemplate the rules and situations for when <br />34 these conference calls need to occur. <br />35 Jim Groves handed out an elected officials guide to emergencies and disasters. He <br />36 said when there is a significant disaster the 911 folks will call him in addition to dispatching <br />37 responders. He said if it the situation is significant enough that the Commissioners might <br />38 receive inquiries, he will give the County Manager a phone call briefing. He said Bonnie <br />39 Hammersley will then reach out to interface with the Board. <br />40 Jim Groves said other than outreach activities, emergency communications does not do <br />41 day to day County communication business. He said Carla Banks does a great job of this with <br />42 the Public Affairs office. <br />43 Jim Groves said anytime the Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) is activated, <br />44 different aspects are activated to collect and disperse information. He said with the system is <br />45 an Emergency Support Function 15 (ESF -15) that is basically public affairs and public <br />46 information. He said his staff would use Carla Banks and David Hunt to interface with different <br />47 public information officers around the County. <br />48 He said a new system call Everbridge has just been implemented, and this is similar to <br />49 Code Red, but it is much more robust. He said this system can push information out and can <br />50 reach every phone number, including unlisted numbers to deliver messages. He said there is <br />