Palo Alto Fiber Master Plan 9-17-13

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City of Palo Alto (ID # 4080)Technology Committee Staff Report

Report Type: Meeting Date: 9/17/2013

City of Palo Alto Page 1

Summary Title: Master Plan to Provide Fiber-to-the Premise and Wireless

Network Plan

Title: Develop Master Plan to Build Out the City's Dark F iber Optic System to

Provide Fiber-to-the-Premise and Develop Complimentary Wireless Network

Plan

From: City Manager

Lead Department: City Manager

Recommendation

Staff recommends that the Technology and Connected City Committee recommend Council

direct staff to:

1. Develop a Fiber-to-the-Premise Master Plan and conduct a request for proposals tobuild out the existing dark fiber optic system in Palo Alto.

2. Develop a Wireless Network Plan with a near-term focus on WiFi, and a long-termconsideration of other wireless technologies.Executive Summary

Progressive cities want to ensure their residents, businesses and anchor institutions have access

to ubiquitous and reliable ultra high-speed1

broadband connectivity. With this goal in mind, and

in response to Councils directive, staff is recommending that the City proactively develop a

Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) Master Plan and a Request for Proposals (RFP) to build out the dark

fiber optic system (fiber system) in Palo Alto. Staff also recommends developing a

complimentary Wireless Network2

Plan in a sequence that addresses both near term and long

term objectives.

The FTTP Master Plan will identify the design and specifications of the network. The City will

1Ultra high-speed broadband connectivity refers to a telecommunications network that would provide speeds in

excess of 100 megabits per second (Mbps).

2The term wireless includes a large set of technologies that support cellular, radio and WiFi. WiFi is a single

specific technology.

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also conduct any environmental review that may be needed in preparation for a subsequent

competitive process to attract a third party telecommunications provider to build and operate

the network. The Wireless Network Plan will provide a city-wide needs assessment, evaluate

how the existing fiber system and other City-owned infrastructure can be fully leveraged to

support a citywide multifunctional wireless network, recommend a network design that would

best support the City, and provide a business plan with capital and operational cost estimates.

This staff report also provides an update on the creation of a Citizen Advisory Committee.

Background

The Technology and Connected City Committee held its first meeting on May 14, 2013.

Attachment D provides meeting minutes. The Committee recommended that staff develop a

work plan to evaluate the feasibility of building a citywide high-speed broadband FTTP network

in Palo Alto, and create a Citizen Advisory Committee to assist in the evaluation. The City

Council approved the Committees recommendations onJune 24, 2013.

Discussion

Fiber-to-the-Premise Master Plan and RFP

Since the late 1990s, the City has worked to develop a viable business plan to expand the fiber

system for residential use. From 2001 to 2005, these efforts included a FTTP trial to prove

technical feasibility. The trial was successful in terms of proving technical feasibility, but when

initial investment and overhead expenditures were included in the calculation for the business

case, it did not appear that a citywide build-out would be economically viable. As a result, from

2002 to 2004, City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) staff worked with a telecommunications

consultant to develop a FTTP business case and business plan. The final business plan

demonstrated that a FTTP utility could be economically viable over a 20 -year constructionbond period, assuming the Electric Fund would issue revenue bonds. However, upon further

legal analysis by the City Attorney, it was determined that the Electric Utility could not continue

to fund the FTTP Project. Additionally, no Electric or other Enterprise Utility Revenue Bonds

could be issued, and financing costs would be greater than those assumed in the plan.

In 2006, the City issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the construction and operation of a

City-wide ultra-high speed bandwidth system. The RFP process resulted in negotiations with

a Consortium of three firms to build a citywide FTTP network. Ultimately the City was

unwilling to raise the amount of capital that the Consortium wanted from the City to

participate. Additionally, with the economic downturn in 2008, the Consortiums ability to

obtain their own financing was severely impacted and they withdrew from participation in early2009.

At Councils direction, in 2009 and early 2010 staff worked to evaluate the feasibility of

submitting a federal stimulus grant application for FTTP under the National Telecommunication

and Information Administrations (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

Once the NTIA issued its project funding criteria, staff concluded that a municipal FTTP project
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would not qualify for a grant since Palo Alto did not meet the definition of a community

unserved or underserved by broadband service providers. In February 2010, Council

directed staff to submit a response to Googles Fiber for Communities Request for Information

(RFI) to build and test ultra-high speed broadband networks. In 2011, Google selected Kansas

City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri for their first network deployments and have since

announced plans to expand their network into the surrounding suburbs of each city. In April2013, Google announced plans to deploy a network in Austin, Texas and also announced the

purchase of an existing municipal FTTP network in Provo, Utah.

Citywide Ultra High-Speed Broadband System Project

After the negotiations with the Consortium ended, Council directed staff to explore the use of

the fiber fund reserve to independently proceed with a phased build-out of the existing fiber

system. In response, staff developed a two-phased conceptual plan for the Citywide Ultra

High-Speed Broadband System Project. The plan was reviewed by the UAC on June 1, 2011 and

the Finance Committee on November 15, 2011.

User-Financed FTTP

In 2012, staff conducted a study of an alternative FTTP business model that relies on

homeowners to voluntarily pay for some or all of the cost to build out the fiber system into

residential neighborhoods with an open access, broadband-only service.3

To analyze the

feasibility of the user-financed FTTP model, market research was developed based on a

community survey conducted by RKS Research and Consulting, in addition to a financial

assessment prepared by Tellus Venture Associates (TVA). The RKS survey results affirmed that

residents view CPAU as a respected and competent provider of core utility services. A

measureable number of homeowners are interested in adding telecom to the list of services

they can purchase from CPAU, but a commitment to invest in a fiber connection is very limited.

TVAs report concluded that a fully user-financed citywide FTTP network is not possible. An

opt-in FTTP network can be built using a combination of upfront user fees and City financing,

but there is very little probability of the debt incurred being repaid through operations.

Ongoing subsidies would be required, almost certainly in excess of the surpluses generated by

the licensing of dark fiber for commercial purposes. Based on the market research and financial

analysis prepared for the conceptual plan and the assessment of the user-financed FTTP

business model, staff concluded there was no reasonable fiscal basis to pursue either approach.

On June 6, 2012, by a vote of 4 to 3, the Utilities Advisory Commission (UAC) accepted staffs

recommendations to 1) continue the current business model for licensing dark fiber serviceconnections to commercial customers, 2) discontinue efforts to evaluate and implement

3 In an open access, broadband-only service model the network owner treats the network as a common carrier (like

public roads). The network owner invites multiple independent broadband service providers onto the network to

compete for customers on the basis of service, price and quality. The network owner generates revenues by

collecting network transport fees paid by the independent service providers to use the network for the delivery of

voice, video and data services.


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phased initiatives to build out the dark optical fiber backbone network, and 3) retain a wireless

communications consultant to study the feasibility of using the fiber fund reserve to build a

municipal wireless network.

FTTP Master Plan and RFP

The City has evaluated viable business plans/models to expand the fiber system for residentialuse since the late 1990s. Given the upturn in the economy, the City believes that there is a

renewed interest from telecommunications service providers in building an advanced

competitive broadband network in Palo Alto. Staff believes the best way to attract these

providers is to develop a broadband Master Plan, including proactively designing the FTTP

network, defining appropriate network specifications and conducting any necessary

environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in preparation for

an RFP.

To develop the Master Plan, staff recommends retaining a consulting firm with an expertise in

developing plans and RFPs for government agencies contemplating building FTTP and wirelessnetworks. Once the Master Plan is developed, the objective is to issue an RFP for a third party

telecommunications service provider to build and operate the network. The estimated cost to

develop the Master Plan and conduct the RFP is approximately $150,000 - $350,000 (depending

largely on the level of required environmental review) and will include facilitating an

engineering study to develop the infrastructure plan and estimate the cost to build the FTTP

network, evaluate legal and regulatory issues, and complete environmental review. The

estimated timeframe to develop the Plan and conduct the RFP is nine months and will require

the time of approximately 1.75 FTEs over the nine month period.

If the environmental review for a FTTP Network results in a mitigated negative declaration, the

cost for environmental review would range from $20,000 to $50,000. If a full EnvironmentalImpact Report (EIR) is required (based on a third party network builder using the rights-of-way

for an FTTP Network and acknowledging potential legal challenges,) the cost may range from

$200,000 to $250,000. Under California State Law a mitigated negative declaration must be

completed with six (6) months from the date an application is filed and fully completed.

Under California State Law an EIR must be completed within one year of filing a fully completed

application. These time limits are advisory only but are a good rule of thumb.

Wireless Network Plan and RFP

In addition to developing a Master Plan and RFP for bring FTTP, wireless solutions should also

be employed. The term wireless as defined here includes a large set of technologies thatsupport cellular, radio and WiFi. The Citys fiber system has enough coverage and capacity to

support an overlay of a multifunctional wireless network. Moreover, cities with fiber systems

have an inherent advantage in deploying wireless networks since fiber provides essential


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backhaul4

transmission links to support high data rates over wireless networks.

With appropriate design and sufficient budget, municipal wireless networks can support

remote and mobile broadband needs for public safety personnel and other field-based staff, in

addition to potentially offering WiFi Internet access for the general public. Furthermore,

specialized uses such as a wireless communications system for smart grid applications can alsobe accommodated by a multifunctional wireless network with the proper design and

technology.

Staff recommends issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to retain professional services from a

wireless communications firm with experience working with local governments to develop the

options and plans to build a wireless network. Staff estimates the cost will be $100,000 and will

take six to nine months to complete the Wireless Network Plan. The general scope of work for

the Plan includes, but is not limited to, the following tasks and deliverables:

Define the Citys wireless broadband goals and objectives based on conducting a usergroup needs assessment among all City departments, including public safety. This taskwould also include an assessment of the type of wireless communication system required to

support future deployment of Smart Grid applications.

Provide an assessment of how the general public and City could use the network for WiFiaccess to the Internet in the near term.

Provide an analysis of using wireless data services from the commercial carriers as opposedto building a dedicated municipal network for a variety of wireless applications to support

City services.

Evaluate how the existing fiber system and other City-owned infrastructure and propertiescan be fully leveraged to support a citywide multifunctional wireless network.

Assess the various technologies used to build municipal wireless networks and recommendwhich technologies and network design would best support end-user needs and the Citys

present and future goals and objectives for wireless services.

Prepare a preliminary business plan with capital and operational cost estimates.Upon completion of the Wireless Network Plan, the findings and recommendations will be

submitted to the Technology Committee and the Council to assist the Council members with

formulating a final vision and direction for the deployment of a wireless network. Staff

estimates the cost to build a citywide wireless network to be in the range of $3 to $5

million. The projected ongoing support and maintenance cost to operate the network will alsobe addressed in the Wireless Plan.

4 Backhaul is a term used to describe the transmission of customer usage data from a collection point in a

wireless network back to a central point or network backbone. If a fiber network is in place, it can put wireless

access points anywhere and offer each a dedicated amount of bandwidth in excess of what would be possible with

a purely wireless network known as the all radio approach.


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Other Potential Near-term WiFi Actions

Understanding the time that will be needed to develop both the Fiber Master Plan and WiFi

Plan, in the interim, staff recommends evaluating and implementing where practical, near term

solutions that are impactful to the community and municipal services. For example, expanding

WiFi capabilities in additional parks, plazas, University and/or Cal Avenues, and/or identifying

the most troubling dead zones in Palo Alto and deploying WiFi, etc.

Citizen Advisory Committee Update

An Advisory Committee will be appointed by the City Manager to provide objective advice, from

a citizen perspective, to the City Manager and the Technology Committee. The primary role of

the advisors is to work with the Technology Committee, City Manager and City staff to develop

the Fiber Master Plan and support the work necessary to develop recommendations for FTTP

and wireless deployments to the Technology Committee and City Council.

To date, eight members of the community have expressed interest in sitting on a Committee.

The City Manager will select candidates based on their knowledge of the telecommunicationsindustry and applicable technologies; familiarity with municipal broadband initiatives in Palo

Alto and other communities; understanding of the various business models for deploying fiber

and wireless networks; and interest in the public policy issues affecting government owned and

operated broadband networks.

Resource Impact

Licensing dark fiber is a financially successful enterprise for the City and generates a steady

revenue stream that can support the Citys goal of becoming a leading digital city. The fiber

fund reserve is $15.3 million as of the end of fiscal year 2013. There is also a $1.0 million

Emergency Plant Replacement Fund for the fiber system. The City Attorney has provided CPAUstaff with an opinion that the fiber fund reserve can be used for fiber and wireless

communication services, including developing a Fiber Master Plan, as well as planning for,

building and operating wireless network services. Staff recommends leveraging the fiber

reserve to develop the FTTP Master Plan and the Wireless Network Plan. Cost estimates are as

follows:

FTTP Master Plan $150,000-$350,000 (depending on required environmental review)

Wireless Network Plan $100,000 (up to)

Total $250,000-$450,000

Policy Implications

This recommendation is consistent with the Telecommunications Policy adopted by the Council

in 1997, to facilitate advanced telecommunications services in Palo Alto in an environmentally

sound manner.

Reference CMR: 369:97 Proposed Telecommunications Policy Statements.


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TECHNOLOGY AND THE CONNECTED CITY

FINAL MINUTES

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Special MeetingMay 14, 2013

Chairperson Kniss called the meeting to order at 3:09 P.M. in the CouncilConference Room, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California.

Present: Klein, Kniss (Chair), Scharff, Shepherd

Absent:

AGENDA ITEMS

1. History of Fiber in Palo AltoJames Keene, City Manager, indicated the Agenda Items were meant to be asurvey of technology initiatives in the City.

Council Member Klein referenced an article contained in an email from the

National League of Cities regarding technology.

James Fleming, Utilities Management Specialist, reported the fiber backbonewas first conceived in the mid-1990s when the City developed a telecomstrategy that included building a fiber ring capable of supporting multipledevelopers and/or service providers with significant growth potential. In themid-1990s, most investor-owned and public utilities invested in fiber opticsto improve command and control of utility infrastructure. Many fibernetworks typically had excess capacity that could be licensed or leased tothird parties. The original target market for the City's commercial fiberservice was competitive local exchange carriers (CLEC). CLECs emerged

after the passage of the 1996 Telecom Act, which mandated a competitionpolicy rather than monopoly regulation. Dark fiber was unused fiber opticsthrough which no light was transmitted and which did not carry a signal. Bythe late-1990s, many CLECs left the market either through mergers orbankruptcy. A fiber backbone would be a valuable asset with the capacity tosupport the City's internal communication requirements, informationtechnology (IT) systems, and command and control of systems for critical

Attachment A. May 14, 2013 Committee Meeting Minutes


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Technology and the Connected City Special Meeting

Final Minutes 5/14/13

City infrastructure. The network could provide dark fiber service connectionsto a variety of potential users. The system was financed internally by theElectric Enterprise Fund through a 20-year $2 million loan at 0 percentinterest. In 2008 the fiber optics business completed the loan repayment tothe Electric Enterprise Fund and a separate Fiber Optic Enterprise Fund wasestablished. The first phase of the system was constructed in 1996 and1997 and consisted of 33 route miles. In 1998, the backbone was expandedto 41 route miles which passed the majority of business parks andcommercial property in the City. The end user was responsible for installing,configuring and maintaining electronic equipment to provision the licensedfiber strands. The City was highly dependent on the fiber system forcommunications. The City's basic business model was to license dark fiberconnectivity to companies that required large amounts of bandwidth and hadthe internal resources to install, configure and maintain the electronicequipment required to provision the fiber strands. The City licensed dark

fiber connections to approximately 80 commercial customers withapproximately 200 separate connections. The backbone system wasextended based on demand, with recent extensions to the East MeadowCircle area and 18 Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) facilities. TheFiber Optic Reserve Fund was expected to have a balance of $14.5 million atthe end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, and projected to increase by $2.3 million inFY 2014.

Chair Kniss asked if some commercial customers resold fiber service.

Mr. Fleming indicated four or five customers were resellers.

Chair Kniss inquired about the number of residential customers.

Mr. Fleming replied there were three.

Chair Kniss asked if any apartment buildings were fiber customers.

Mr. Fleming answered no.

Chair Kniss suggested owners of apartment buildings might not be aware of

the fiber network.

Vice Mayor Shepherd inquired about the policy for connecting residentialcustomers.

Mr. Fleming explained the connection fee was significantly high and theaverage household could not afford it, particularly if the residence waslocated a distance away from the backbone.



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Mayor Scharff asked if Staff considered a means to provide fiber toapartment building owners.

Mr. Fleming reported Staff had not approached multiple dwelling residentialunits. Apartment building owners would need to determine whether theywished to provide an open access system or wished to directly provideservices.

Mayor Scharff asked how the three residential users utilized their fiberconnections.

Mr. Fleming supposed the fiber connection was used for internet service buthe was not certain.

Mayor Scharff inquired about the internet service provider (ISP) for fiber.

Mr. Fleming indicated fiber users most likely connected through Palo AltoInternet Exchange (PAIX), which provided a choice of ISPs.

Chair Kniss stated many residents were not aware of PAIX.

Council Member Klein inquired about connection charges for a residentialcustomer.

Mr. Fleming explained the charge depended on the distance from thebackbone.

Council Member Klein inquired about monthly charges for residentialconnections.

Mr. Fleming believed they were in the range of a few hundred dollars,perhaps more.

Council Member Klein requested the amount of the connection charge for aresidential user.

Mr. Fleming reported the minimum connection charge was $615. In 2000the Council approved a fiber to the home trial to determine the feasibility ofproviding City-wide fiber for home access. The trial program indicatedtechnical feasibility; a 2004 business plan indicated a fiber to the homeutility could be economically viable. Further legal analysis determined thatthe Electric Utility could not fund the fiber to the home project. In 2005 aColleague's Memo recommended a revised approach to fiber to the home



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and Staff provided a discussion of legal and financial issues. In 2007, theCouncil directed Staff to proceed with development of an ultra-high speedbroadband system business plan with a consortium of investors.Negotiations between the consortium and the City broke down in 2008. In2009, Staff recommended the City apply for grant funds available from theFederal Government; however, Staff determined the City was not eligible forfunds under program requirements. The City retained two consultants toevaluate opportunities to expand the fiber network. Their report, presentedin 2011, indicated there was no compelling business case to provide fiberservice directly to residences, because Palo Alto was served by two dominantproviders. In June 2012, Staff presented an alternative model for City-widefiber to the premise, whereby homeowners would pay for some or all coststo build out the existing dark fiber network into residential neighborhoods.The customer survey concluded that the community was interested in fiberto the premise services, but interest in the user-financed model was low.

Financial analysis of the model determined user-financed fiber to thepremise system could not be achieved. Subsequently, Staff recommendedthe Utilities Advisory Commission (UAC): 1) continue the current businessmodel for licensing dark fiber service, 2) discontinue efforts to implementdark fiber network for residential fiber to the premise, and 3) initiate anevaluation to determine if the City should use the Fiber Fund Reserve tofinance the construction and operation of a wireless system which leveragedand augmented the dark fiber network. The UAC voted 4-3 to accept thoserecommendations.

James Cook, Utilities Advisory Commission (UAC) Chairman, reported theUAC was concerned about flaws in the study and the lack of direction fromthe Council and community. The split vote was an indication of the UAC'sconcerns.

Asher Waldfogel, UAC Commissioner, indicated the UAC felt the study didnot include all the latest thinking. Dramatic changes in technology andequipment in the last few years could make fiber to the premises feasible.

Mr. Cook felt the UAC was frustrated in that the City had an Infrastructureand Reserve Fund but no information as to how to use it to move forward.

Chair Kniss felt Palo Alto should have the ability to connect to its citizens.

Jonathan Reichental, Chief Information Officer, believed the future ofAmerica was a connected country through broadband access.

Chair Kniss stated the City's goal was connectivity.



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Vice Mayor Shepherd requested an explanation of the term "last mile."

Mr. Fleming reported the last mile was the distance from an access point toan individual premise.

Vice Mayor Shepherd inquired about splice points.

Mr. Fleming indicated they were network connections.

Vice Mayor Shepherd understood that homeowners could not tap into fiberoptic cable; they had to connect via an access point.

Mr. Fleming clarified homeowners needed specific electronic equipment toutilize fiber.

Vice Mayor Shepherd asked if undergrounded utilities contained fiber.

Mr. Fleming reported fiber was underground and aerial at different points inthe system.

Vice Mayor Shepherd inquired whether fiber was included in undergroundedutilities.

Mr. Fleming felt few if any residential neighborhoods contained usableconduit.

Vice Mayor Shepherd asked why the conduit was not usable.

Mr. Fleming suggested it could be full or old.

Tomm Marshall, Assistant Director of Utilities, reported fiber rings forcommercial services were in place. Spare conduit in most undergroundingareas could be used for fiber; however, that could require reconfiguration ofexisting conduit systems.

Mr. Keene inquired about the amount of fiber located underground versus

above ground if the City became fully connected.

Mr. Marshall indicated most residential neighborhoods were still overhead;therefore, the majority of fiber would be located overhead.

Chair Kniss added Chattanooga, Tennessee's fiber was all overhead.Apparently either method worked well.



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Mr. Marshall believed undergrounding was not the issue for providing fiberservice. Fiber service was not set up for residential customers.

Vice Mayor Shepherd requested Staff provides copies of their presentationfor distribution.

2. Present Status of the Fieldi. Changes Since Palo Altos Last Effortii. Googles Impact

Chair Kniss indicated Agenda item 2 was covered in the previous discussion.

3. Preliminary Development of Work Plan and ScheduleJames Keene, City Manager, reported Staff was conducting exploratory

research and outreach. Staff could provide an outline related to a schedulefor the Committee meeting; however, the specific functions of a work planwould be formed by directives to Staff.

4. Initial Stepsi. Kansas City Conferenceii. Networking

Chair Kniss announced she, Vice Mayor Shepherd and Mr. Fleming wouldattend the fiber conference in Kansas City on May 28th thru 30th.

James Fleming, Utilities Management Specialist, noted the conference wassponsored by the Fiber to the Home Council.

5. Creation of a Citizen Advisory CommitteeChair Kniss suggested the City Manager appoint and work with a CitizenAdvisory Committee.

James Keene, City Manager, felt the Council wanted to implement a citizen

committee in order to utilize community talent and restart communitydialog.

MOTION: Mayor Scharff moved, seconded by Chair Kniss to request theCity Manager form a Citizen Committee.

MOTION PASSED: 4-0



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Chair Kniss believed it was unusual for a city to have dark fiber in place andto make money on it.

Council Member Klein recalled that one of the issues in negotiating with theconsortium in 2006 was risk and financial requirements. The City's financialleverage changed since those discussions.

Chair Kniss asked how Staff knew fiber rates for commercial customers werecompetitive and if the City was one of the first cities to have dark fiber.

Mr. Fleming reported several cities in California had dark fiber, becauseutilities needed fiber for command and control of infrastructure. Some citieswere aggressive about licensing dark fiber, but none of the cities providedfiber to the residential market.

Chair Kniss requested Staff provide information regarding actions taken bycities similar to Palo Alto.

Mr. Fleming indicated some cities leveraged dark fiber to build Wi-Fisystems.

Mayor Scharff inquired about the program San Leandro Lit.

Mr. Fleming explained Lit San Leandro was a partnership between a softwaredevelopment company and the City of San Leandro. The city allowed OSISoft to use existing conduit to run fiber in commercial areas. The privatecompany was driving the partnership, but the city was benefitting throughuse of the fiber.

6. Rollout of Palo Alto 311

Jonathan Reichental, Chief Information Officer, reported the phone number311 was aligned with government services. With Palo Alto 311, the publiccould contact City services through e-mail, calls, text, and Facebook, andthe City could provide information to the public. Services through Palo Alto

311 would relate to the Public Works Department beginning June 1, 2013.The community would know when City Staff was dispatched and when theproblem was resolved. Location coordinates would be placed on photossubmitted for service through a smart phone.

James Keene, City Manager, added Staff could track and combine multiplecalls for the same issue illuminating multiple responses.



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Mr. Reichental indicated additional services would be added over time. Inalignment with the City's open data and government transparency policy,data collected from Palo Alto 311 would be published in the open dataplatform.

Vice Mayor Shepherd inquired whether phone numbers would be included inthe public data.

Mr. Reichental noted some items of information were protected.

Mayor Scharff inquired whether a picture taken through the 311 applicationwould automatically be sent to the City with a service request.

Mr. Reichental replied yes.

Mayor Scharff reported the 311 application had a calendar, a library catalog,and could download e-books. He inquired about users providing feedback.

Mr. Reichental indicated the application itself could provide feedback. Thatinformation would go to a team working on improvements.

Council Member Klein asked if neighboring cities were using similarapplications.

Mr. Reichental stated Mountain View utilized a 311 application.

Council Member Klein inquired about the length of time Mountain View hadused an application.

Mr. Reichental indicated more than 18-months.

Council Member Klein inquired about plans to notify residents about Palo Alto311.

Mr. Reichental stated the application would be launched the same day as theHackathon with a press release and a number of marketing promotions.

7. Hackathon on June 1, 2013

Jonathan Reichental, Chief Information Officer, reported the national day ofcivic hacking would occur June 1 and 2, 2013. The event was designed toconnect government and community to address community needs.



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Key aspects were commitment to the principles of transparency,participation and collaboration, government interest in open data,partnership with the community to address community needs, and continuedand increased emphasis on the promotion of science, technology,engineering, art and math (STEAM). Palo Alto's event was a festival for theentire family and community with activities geared toward STEAM.

Chair Kniss asked how participants could register for the Hackathon.

Mr. Reichental noted the event was free with no registration required.Lytton Plaza would be the epicenter beginning at 11:00 A.M. Three goals forthe event were: 1) align with White House and federal agencies, 2) funevent for community, and 3) join civic solvers with civic problems. Staffadvertised in local newspapers and engaged social media. In addition,private supporters were utilizing their networks to spread the word.

8. Upcoming City Technology InitiativesJonathan Reichental, Chief Information Officer would present the three-yearInformation Technology strategy to the Council on May 20, 2013.

FUTURE MEETINGS AND AGENDAS

James Keene, City Manager, requested parties interested in serving on theadvisory committee contact him or Sheila Tucker.

Chair Kniss encouraged public attendance at the May 20, 2013 Councilmeeting. The next Committee meeting would be scheduled for mid- to late-summer.

ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned at 4:38 P.M.


Documents

Palo Alto Fiber Master Plan 9-17-13