SANDPOINT — Three weeks ago, Sandpoint City Council updated their online public participation options by investing in Zoom, an online communications tool that has become popular for group meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Zoom is not the only technology update Sandpoint will be going through this year. City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said this is the first time the city has ever formally attempted to develop a master plan for information technology and address all issues with current programs, staffing and deficits for IT equipment moving forward.

The city recently awarded a contract for an in-depth analysis of the hardware and software to draft a capital plan in preparation of the upcoming years supplies. Stapleton expects the city to see a proposal from the contractor in approximately three months.

“The idea is we are not coming into this with a preconceived notion of what’s coming out of it,” Stapleton said. “It’s really bringing the experts aboard on what can assist us and guiding our efforts in this regard in terms of best practices and recommendations.”

One change Stapleton expects to see come from their contractor’s recommendation is moving to a more cloud-based environment for their programs as opposed to server-based programs. By moving from a server-based model to a cloud-based model, this will increase access to resources provided by the city instead of relying on one central storage spot.

So far the city is in the fact-finding stage. Stapleton said the city is supplying the contractor with information about their systems and services to assess overall strengths, weaknesses and potential opportunities for growth.

“This also includes just generally looking at our telecommunications so our phone systems, cellphones, communication services, looking again for more integration, better public access, and potential cost savings.”

Stapleton said it’s been the city’s long-term goal to increase accessibility for citizens. Zoom is one communication tool that the city began using regularly since the April 29 council meeting.

Stapleton said all features have been implemented with the city’s purchase including consistent city branding and backgrounds, greater public privacy protection and increased interaction with the public.

“For the functioning we need for our city council meetings, the free version was not an option for us,” Stapleton said. “The ability to have people raising their hands to track what our utilization is, how many people are on the line, those types of metrics …We felt with additional functionality that we added onto Zoom that is not in the free version, that the appropriate protections are built into that, both for the conduct of our meetings as well as for the public protection as well.”

Electronic participation and streaming will continue to be offered for all of Sandpoint’s public meetings, even after the city resumes public attendance.

“We will continue to allow for electronic participation and electronic streaming of the council meetings so for members of the public who don’t have the time to come in to the council meetings or otherwise are unable to come in to the council meetings, we want to give them as many opportunities to participate as possible,” Stapleton said. “It will be for all of our open public meetings which will be all planning and zoning commission meetings, all city council meetings including all hearings and all workshops with the commission and the council.”

Members of the public are encouraged to fill out a form prior to attending the virtual meeting if they want to speak under public forum or for any of the agenda topics listed. This form specifically allows citizens to indicate if there is a need for advanced help from the IT staff prior to joining the meeting.

Stapleton said members can also fill out the form during the meeting if they decide during the meeting that they would like to submit a comment.

Along with Zoom and the master IT plan, the city is working to stream live videos on YouTube. The city has been streaming live for approximately five years, using the video service Lifesize on their website. The city is in the process of transitioning over to YouTube and having a YouTube channel for their meetings instead. “We believe it will be easier for the public,” Stapleton said.

Stapleton said the city will continue to look into improvements for all of their online platforms to elevate the experience for remote participants.

“We have had a stated goal through the city for our last two years under our strategic plan to implement 24/7 online accessibility to city hall services and activities,” She said. “With the COVID-19 pandemic and us having to go solely to electronic meetings, it has kind of forced us thinking about that and making that change now. Again, how do we allow for both in person participation as well as electronic participation moving forward?”