Wilbraham selectmen approve purchase of new permitting system

Date: 10/9/2014

WILBRAHAM – The Board of Selectmen approved a recommendation for a request to purchase a new permitting system at its Sept. 29 meeting.

Information Technology Director Nathan DeLong said several departments are dissatisfied with the current permitting system software due to technical issues and a lack of adequate support for those issues.

“We’re hitting a wall with basic functionally of data coming from the Assessor’s Office to the Building Department, having issues arise where we call them up to correct these issues and they say ‘Well, you have to pay per incident now;’ even though we’re paying $8,000 now [for technical support].”

DeLong proposed a purchase and migration to Business Management System Inc. (BMSI) for a total of $10,400 in reoccurring costs, which is less than the cost of the current system. BSMI’s cost for installation and purchase would be funded from the technology fund.

“We’re going to take the $8,000 that was held paying [for technical support] this year and use that towards the purchase of this new system,” he added.

The existing vendor does not have a maintenance contract with the town, DeLong explained. There are no ramifications for canceling the technical support.

BSMI would also include web hosting, which is currently not available with the current vendor, he added.

The Broadband Committee also discussed the ongoing application of fiber optic connections for municipal purposes with the board.

Currently, the library and Town Hall are connected through the Massachusetts Broadband Institute’s (MBI) network, Broadband Committee Chair William Caruana said.

“The MBI installs fiber optic lines to specific access points such as Woodland Dell fire station No. 2, fire headquarters, the police station, the library, and Town Hall,” he explained. 

DeLong said he attended the Broadband and Economic Development Conference in Springfield and also has been examining Leverett as a functioning model of an MLP.

One change inspired from the conference was DeLong’s recommendation that there should be no individual MLP manager and that the board should continue its role as the MLP’s authority.

Previously, at its Sept. 8 meeting, the board contemplated appointing DeLong as MLP manager.

However, DeLong explained that the Leverett model is just a model and that officials from Leverett stated that the best model is one focusing on the individualized needs of one’s own town or city.

“One of the things that the light plant is really going to need to survive are elected residents of town with business backgrounds, with financial backgrounds; ideally if any of them have telecommunications industry experience,” DeLong added.

Caruana said the Broadband Committee hopes to host an open forum about broadband for interested residents and businesses.

“I think getting a sense of where the town wants to see itself go [is the best decision],” Board of Selectmen Chair Robert Russell said.

Caruana said the Broadband Committee is building a business and financial model using tools at http://ftthanalyzer.com.

DeLong also submitted an annual fiscal year report for the MLP to the board, which will be reviewed and discussed at a future meeting.

“It basically says we have no revenue, we have no expenses, this is our vision,” he explained. “It was created and now we’re working on the planning stage.”

The next Broadband Committee meeting will take place at the Little Red School House on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.