Falls Run Communications Committee

 

MEETING NOTES

 

December 7, 2007

 

Present:  Jack Mounts, Chair, Marv Koontz, Dan Augustine, Joan Bitley, Ann Jones, Sylva Southwell, Denzil Willis, Bill Arnst, Loretta Savee & Norm Kolb

 

Jack opened the meeting with introductions all around.  He then said that with his election to the BOD, he was now the liaison to this committee from the BOD.  His role, as he sees it, will be to bring direction from the BOD; taking an active part in this committee to make sure that the committee functions properly. He also said that he would urge the BOD to direct all the community committees in this active manner.

 

Armstrong continues to develop the following processes that need to be monitored by this committee

 

  1. Sylva is working to complete the census of FR residents.  She will continue to contact offsite owners who did not respond to previous requests for Tenant Verification Forms.  She is also working on a transition of files from Koger so that they will fit into her file cabinets.

  2. Armstrong is developing a process in Fairfax to ensure that the basic three forms (new owner forms in the resale packet) are being tracked and properly input to the db.

  3. Fairfax office is continuing the process of inputting the original FR db into the Armstrong FR db.

Jack Mounts asked Armstrong for a timeline on this process in November and was told that they did not know when they would have this completed.

  1. Once the input process is complete and the Connect system is up and running this committee must finalize our recommendations to the BOD on the Connect system.

  2. Continue our discussion of the Alert System, ask Armstrong and others for more information, etc. and finalize our recommendations to the BOD on the Alert System.

 

Jack Mounts called for the election of a new chairman for this committee.  He stated that Norm Kolb had been nominated and since no one else had been nominated, Jack asked for a vote by show of hands.

Norm Kolb was elected chairman unanimously.  Jack then handed over the meeting to Norm.

 

Loretta Savee, who joined our committee today, requested some time to elaborate on her concerns with the Armstrong Connect System. Her background in computer software prompts her to ask some basic questions:

  1. What is the security architecture of the Connect system?  What protection and safeguards are contained within the program to secure the personal data of all residents and protect against fraud and hacking?

  2. What is Armstrong’s policy if there is a breech of security and some of our personal data is stolen by a hacker or intruder?

  3. What is Armstrong’s policy for protection of our db when their employees are using laptops or working from home?

  4. What is Armstrong’s privacy policy?

 

Loretta wants to be sure Armstrong has a strong security system and policy in place when dealing with our FR db, which contains our personal and financial records.

 

Sylva said that she would contact the head of IT security at the company which wrote the software for Connect and also consult Sandra on these questions.  Loretta noted that Sandra’s previous answers on the Connect system were too ambiguous and we needed detailed answers to the questions above.

Sylva will work with Loretta via email to refine the above questions.  These questions should be reviewed via email by Len, Dan and Denzil before they are sent on to Armstrong or their software company for answers.

 

The committee then spent some time discussing the FR Resident Alert System guided by the agenda items

 

1, It was generally agreed that the email alert would be useless for emergencies and not reach enough residents. The committee agreed that only the telephone alert system should be used.  Residents will be able to opt out.

 

2. Since Stafford County already has an alert system via cell phone and email we should not duplicate that type of warning.  Alerts for FR should be specific to our community.  We need to define what emergencies our FR Alert system covers.

 

3         The one hour lag time that the Alert System takes to implement takes away its effectiveness especially for the 3 basic FEMA definitions. It is okay for some things such as snow plowing and digging on a certain street or neighborhood.

 

  1. Stafford County has a reverse 911 telephone system.  We need more information on this system. Norm will contact Bill Kennedy, Bill Arnst will contact Bill Smith to obtain more information.

 

  1. Handicapped residents need special warnings for emergencies.  The Neighborhood Watch (NW) has some information on handicapped residents and can help in this area.

 

  1. We also need to interface with NW’ s committee on emergencies chaired by Bill Smith and Earl Henry.  Bill Arnst will check with them on their progress.

 

  1. There is also the NOAA radio system that contains alerts on violent weather such as tornadoes.  This probably needs to be introduced to our residents.

 

  1. It was suggested that eventually an article in the Gazette should be prepared on emergencies, how we should prepare for them and the Alert System.  Ann Jones said this was possible.

 

  1. Sylva noted that other Armstrong communities use the Alert System.  She was asked to inquire which communities use this system and how they use it. If she could get this information, Norm would make the calls.

 

  1. Persons authorized to activate the Alert System and who the decision maker will be was tabled until we gather more information on the whole process.

 

Norm Kolb, Chair, Communications Committee