Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Cross Office Building, Room 105, Augusta

At 1:04 pm, Richard Thompson called the April meeting of the InforME Board to order. 

The following members were present:
Dick Thompson, Chair
Dick Hinkley
Dan Gwadosky
Anne Schink
Deb Carson
Erin Hutchins
Rick Record
Linda Cohen
Matt Dunlap
Marilyn Lutz
Jaynie Higgins
Richard Trahey 
Cindy Butts

Others Present
Kelly Hokkanen, InforME 
Casey Faiman, InforME 
Kasi Ehlers, InforME
Ruth Lunn, Dept. of Public Safety
Lisa Leahy

I. Adoption of March 21, 2006 Meeting Minutes 

Action:
Motion:  Matt Dunlap made a motion to accept the meeting minutes as presented
Second:  Linda Cohen  
Vote:  Unanimous

Discussion:
Dick Thompson moved the third item on the agenda to the second item in the interest of time, as Ruth Lunn was present to discuss the two homicides involving the Maine Sex Offender Registry website.

II. Discussion: Maine Sex Offender Registry Website

Ruth briefed the InforME Board regarding the gentleman who murdered two Maine residents after obtaining their addresses from the Sex Offender Registry website on Sunday, April 16th.  InforME began discussions with Maine State Police on 4/16 at 10:24 am by providing them with usage logs and IP addresses.  At 10:41 on the same day, InforME was asked to take the website down, and it was restored the following day 4/17 at 12:11 pm.  Ruth stated that DPS has received numerous calls and emails with varying feedback regarding the events.

Discussion also took place regarding the fact that Maine provides an address upon completion of a written request form that requires the name and contact information for the user.  This form is presented electronically and after the proper information is entered, the address is displayed.  Everything displayed is in accordance with the law (Title 34A, Chapter 15).  Dick Thompson confirms that Maine statute specifically states “on the Internet”.  Dick Hinkley reported that he spoke to the AG’s office about whether or not this would be the Board’s liability.  A black and white answer was not given, but it is unlikely that this would be the Board’s responsibility.

Anne Schink expressed appreciation to Todd Tolhurst of InforME for his quick response to the State Police requests.

Dan Gwadosky commended the Department of Public Safety’s response to the crime.

III. Prioritizations

Secretary of State, CEC, Boards and Commissions Annual Reporting

Discussion:

Kasi Ehlers presented the Boards and Commissions Online Annual Reporting Service prioritization to the Board.  Each year (per Title 5 Ch. 379), most Boards and Commissions submit an Annual Report to the Secretary of State’s Office.  The online service will allow the Boards to do so electronically.  InforME has already developed an online annual report service for corporations, and this application would closely model the current service.  The timeline would be late Fall 2006.  Based on the value and resources needed, this project is recommended to continue at a Medium Priority.  This service is a free service

MSECCA Charitable Donations-
 
Discussion:

Erin Hutchins discussed that MSECCA (a state employees association) does regular fundraising drives every year in support of a variety of causes.  Currently, this is all done on paper.  This online service will provide additional convenience for users and provide MSECCA with usable data in an electronic format.  The timeline would be late this summer, with the funds drive closing before the Holidays.

This service would not be difficult to build but there is currently no database in place.  This project is moderate in value and low in resource.  Dan asked Erin if she had the percentage of employees who make contributions.  Erin did not have this number with her, but she will get back to Dan.  Dick Thompson asked if InforME would have time to complete the project to which Erin indicated that there was room in the project queue.  

City of Portland Charitable Donations-

Discussion:

Erin Hutchins indicated that this prioritization was being revisited from last month.  Volunteermaine.org will work for the volunteering piece, but a service still needs to be built for contributions, and this service could be an enterprise solution for other municipalities.  Peter Dewitt provided a revised timeline from Portland, which is the end of June 2006.  Unfortunately, there are 8 projects planned for this time, outside of continuing with business registration and the portal initiatives.  Erin was asked what timeline would work for InforME, and Erin indicated that the end of the year 2006 would fit into the project queue.  Conversation then turned to why Portland might be looking for a June date.  It was thought perhaps because it is the end of the fiscal year or that it was the intention of the current Mayor to roll this out as soon as possible.

Erin stated that she could go back to Peter and let him know that we would be able to complete the service between now and the end of the year.  Cindy Butts asked why this project would be a free service.  Erin responded that InforME could enter into a Time and Materials contract with the City of Portland, but does not think it is appropriate to charge them for a donation website.  Cindy asked what determines a fee versus free service, to which Erin indicated that the decision was based on recommendation by the General Manager of the network.  

Because previous discussion indicated that the project would be developed not just for the City of Portland, but as an enterprise for use by others, the Board questioned whether building a site just specifically for Portland would save time and allow the portal to meet Portland’s desired production schedule.  Erin responded that this would not make a difference in time, as InforME would still be committing resources to build the site.  Dick Thompson stated that part of the Strategic Plan is to make all communities benefit.

Dick Thompson brought the conversation back to the other two prioritizations, both of which were voted in unanimously.  Regarding the City of Portland, Matthew Dunlap made a motion for December completion.  Discussion continued as to whether or not other towns would want this type of service.  Linda indicated that municipalities often see what other towns are doing and follow suit.  Matt once again moves to accept prioritization to do an enterprise solution for December completion.  This was voted in unanimously.

IV. NEI Contract Extension

Dick Hinkley informed the Board that he and Erin have started contract negotiations.  There are a few items that need fine tuning, including the notification scheme if a breach in security of Maine.gov occurs, as well as the expectations regarding a breach occurring in another state.  Dick and Erin are in the process of developing language that works for both parties and it is going well.  Dick was asked if legislative changes were needed in the short term to which he responded there would not be anything immediate for this extension.

V. Business Registration

Dan Gwadosky spoke to the Board regarding his meeting with Erin Hutchins, Dick Thompson, and Dick Hinkley.  The meeting detailed the challenges and limitations of the restaurant licensing pilot, which includes the fact that some agencies are not required by the legislation to take part.  Of utmost concern are the Executive Branch’s and InforME’s collective capacity to meet the intent of the legislation and do it in such a way that it is well managed.   In order to future plans and concerns, Dan will provide a letter of notice from Dick Thompson to the chairs of the sponsoring legislative committee (BRED).   

The “Gold Star Communities” item, which is recognition given to outstanding municipalities, will also be included in the letter.  

VI. Application Demonstration- RSS Feeds

Kelly Hokkanen from InforME made a presentation on RSS feeds. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, which provides an easy way to keep up with news and updates from a variety of websites without having to visit each site.  Many sites are now offering these feeds, and Kelly indicated that Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 will have RSS integrated into the browser.  RSS feeds require a feed reader, and Kelly demonstrated the different types of free readers available and how they work.  Maine.gov will offer RSS feeds at the end of May 2006.

Dick Thompson asked Kelly what the rollout plan for the Webmasters will be.  Kelly stated that What’s New Version 4 includes RSS capability and there will be a training at the next Webmaster meeting.  Kelly also informed the Board that there are no accessibility issues with RSS.

VII. Other Business
Dick Thompson asked if members had any other business of mention.  No additional topics were discussed.  Meeting adjourned at 2:50 pm.
VII. Next Meetings- the following meetings were scheduled for:
-	May 16, 2006
-	June 20, 2006