26 August 1998 12:30 PM
The scheduled meeting of the Electronic
Village of Abingdon "91st Day" Subcommittee held in the Johnston
Memorial Hospital was opened by Dr. F. H. Moore, Jr., Chairman. There were
sixteen participants present. These included:
Dr. F. H. Moore, Jr., Chairman
Russell Minetree
Jay Cox, Vice-Chairman
Steve Galyean
Al Bradley, Secretary
Jean Luker
Randy Robertson
Jack White
Burt Bassham
Daveena Sexton
David Taverner
Brian Lanham
Charlotte Parsons
Ray Millsap
John Mongle
Bill Chaffin
The minutes of the 29 July, 1998
meeting were approved as presented.
The status of potential new connections was discussed.
Only one was included other than the Hospital and Library which was
discussed later; that one was the Campaign Office of Congressman Boucher
now being relocated to Park Street. David Taverner stated that this
connection was scheduled for next week.
The next item of business was that of the proposed
North Abingdon (formerly Johnston Memorial Hospital) extension. It was
noted that two purchase orders for this work had been issued to Sprint by
the Town of Abingdon. The first of these included 12 strand fiber from
Plumb Alley to Court Street, 72 strand fiber through JMH to pole with
cabinet and 4" conduit including individual connections to JMH and
Scyphers and Austin at a total cost of $15,295.41. The second Purchase
Order was issued to Sprint for EVA connection to the Plumb Alley trunk for
the Washington County Public Library at a total cost of $3,722.38. The
total of the two Purchase Orders was $19,017.79; leaving a balance of
$982.21 from the original $20,000 appropriation by the Town. Dr. Moore
noted that the Hospital had promised a $500 contribution toward this
effort.
Dr. Moore also told of his discussion with Bill Hunt of
Hunt and Associates of making EVA service available to their new office
location South of I-81 on Cummings Street. Mr. Hunt had told Dr. Moore
that they had intended to employ two T-1 connections at this office. David
Taverner stated that his rough estimate of providing fiber optic service
at this location, a mile or more distant, was a minimum of $66,000 and
that this location might well prove too distant for fiber service as an
extension of the existing system.
Randy Robertson discussed the proposal to add 100 mbps
capability to the network. He and Brian Lanham had studied the possibility
and discovered that there was excess Hub capacity in the EVA system which
would not be missed if replaced. They had recommended, therefore, that we
replace 6 of the existing 6-port hubs with 2 new 12-port hubs giving 100
mbps capability. This proposal differed somewhat from the decision reached
at the July meeting, so the proposal is being returned for
reconsideration. The recommended increase in capability would cost an
additional $184 per month, increasing one of the lease payments to
Telimagine from $601 per month to $785 per month. This revised proposal
was agreed to by the 91st Day Subcommittee. Randy also discussed the fact
that rates for this service were not set by the group. Jay Cox stated that
he would look at the rate structure, but that would take more study than
he was so far able to do. The rate structure was tabled for the time being
pending further study by Jay Cox.
A report from the 21st Century Subcommittee was
presented by Jay Cox and Jean Luker. Ms. Luker's report from the schools'
standpoint as follows:
Since Washington County Schools have in many ways
pioneered for the community the technologies that are used by EVA, the
schools are prepared to move forward with several projects that are
related to the development of the greater network/community. In defining
what the EVA network might become, one immediately confronts e-commerce as
an area where almost no development has occurred. Yet, the Internet has a
growing number of electronic stores. So it seems an obvious match that
many of the schools' activities which involve financial transactions
between parents and the schools could be handled through an e-commerce
system.
Among the transactions that parents may desire to make
with the schools are season tickets to sporting events, registration of
students, purchase of lunch tickets, and payment of fees. Additionally, it
is reasonable for parents to expect that they could register their
children to attend the county schools, as well as find (as they do now)
weather related school closings, school calendars, information about
school programs, the student handbook, and pertinent information regarding
the way schools must function (policies, and regulations).
In keeping with the school division's role as servants
to the people of the county, it will also be useful to parents to be able
to find transcripts of school board meetings, and even audio and video
records of the board meetings. It is not inconceivable that at a future
date, student grades could be available to parents via a secure server.
Homebound instruction might be handled over the
Internet. In fact, last Spring a student at Wallace Middle School and her
homebound instructor used CUSeeMe to communicate while the student
recuperated from surgery. This idea should be expanded to include more
effective video and audio connection to the homes of students who are
unable to attend school.
Jay Cox summarized the main findings of this
subcommittee as being four in number:
1. An Interactive Tourism Package to allow potential
visitors to book food, lodging and entertainment in advance.
2. Community Information including such things as a
community calendar and other public resources as well as following up on
the ongoing need for training.
3. Development of a 21st Century Office including
advanced technologies on display for visitors to view.
4. Videoconferencing and archiving to employ the
potential of the Town network to a fuller extent. A schematic drawing
entitled "EVA Videoconferencing" was developed by David
Taverner and available for all to view.
Jay stated that this proposed course of action had been
devised for the express purpose of turning this material into a written
plan with which to seek funding from outside sources, such as the
Appalachian Regional Commission, and in order to demonstrate more
effective use of the network. Upon motion of Ray Millsap, seconded by Bill
Chaffin and unanimously approved, the plan as developed by the 21st
Century Subcommittee was approved as presented
There being no further business, the meeting was
adjourned.