Technology Services

The Technology Services Division of LCOG pursues efficiencies and cost savings through multi-jurisdictional sharing of the planning and operation of technology services. During the past year, work was done in four major areas:

  • Telephone Services,
  • Metro Television,
  • Regional Land Information Data Services/Common Mapping/GIS, and
  • Regional Technology Coordination.

Telephone Services

During 2002, Telephone Services’ staff:

  • Installed new phone systems at Lane County Public Works and Lane Education Service District;
  • Processed a Request for Proposals and selected a new vendor for maintenance of the 10,000 telephones and connections in the system;
  • Changed Lane Community College’s phone numbers and added caller ID;
  • Began the transition of cost allocations reports to the internet; and
  • Played a major role in the creation of the Public Agency Network, a high-speed fiber network that connects several public agencies in the metro area.

Metro Television

Metro Television continued operation of the Government Cable Channel, MetroVision, and provided:

  • Metro TVProgramming 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. each day;
  • Live coverage and replays of the Eugene City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners;
  • Programming from Great Britain, Germany, and the United Nations, and government channels in the U.S.; and
  • A new weekly feed from the Oregon Public Affairs Network, which offers a two-hour program of activities and hearings from the state capital.

In addition, Metro Television provided video production services and consultation to government agencies and LCOG members. Staff managed:

  • Live cablecasts of the official Lane County May primary and November general election results, as well as the West Eugene Parkway public hearings;
  • Taped coverage of the county public hearings for the Eugene Sand and Gravel case, and the Eugene State of the City address;
  • The recording of two training sessions for Lane County legal staff;
  • Downlink facilities for a number of teleconferences for Lane County Public Health and the Public Safety Coordinating Council; and
  • Taped facility training for the new Lane County Mental Health building.

Tapes produced by Metro Television in the past year included:

  • An Advice of Rights tape, in both English and Spanish versions, for the Eugene Municipal Court;
  • A juror orientation tape to help streamline the Municipal Court juror process;
  • Lane County Works, an overview of county services;
  • A bond measure program for the 4J School District;
  • A program describing the deteriorating condition of the City’s roads, involving over 75 locations, for Eugene Public Works; and
  • A program for Eugene Fire/EMS, which explained proposed changes in ambulance service around the city.

The most extensive program produced this year was for LCOG’s Senior & Disabled Services. Nobody Should Have to Live With Abuse described six types of abuse, as well as warning signs of abuse of the elderly or persons with disabilities. This product features a number of locations, took over six months to complete, and is being distributed state-wide.

In the role of telecommunications technology consultants, Metro Television continued to provide services:

  • Staff equipped the new City of Eugene library with state-of-the-art video equipment.
  • Staff assisted in the renovation of the Eugene City Council Chambers.
  • Work was completed on linking the City Council Chambers and McNutt Room to Metro Television’s Harris Hall office with fiber optic lines. This allows live coverage of four different meeting sites from the same control console.
  • Metro also took possession of equipment that will enhance productions from its main office, as well as improve the coverage, replay, and archiving of government meetings.

Regional Land Information Data Services/Common Mapping/GIS

The Regional Land Information Database (RLID) Program continued to advance regional efforts to provide the best available geographic data for Lane County.

  • Lane Maps application
    The Lane Maps application of the Regional Land Information Database website.
    Notable data quality enhancements were made to regional GIS zoning files, street intersections, site addresses, and land use information.
  • New data offerings were added to RLID, including boundary files, 2000 Census files, Federal Emergency Management Agency flood information, county-wide aerial imagery, and map sets.
  • Coordination assistance was provided to the multi-year tax lot data mapping project underway at Lane County to provide a current, complete, and accurate digital tax lot base for the County that meets or exceeds state-wide standards.
  • Progress was made on the regional effort to design and integrate a county-wide road centerline file consistent with the emerging state-wide transportation data standards.

Other noteworthy efforts during the year included:

  • Continued expansion of the commercial RLID subscriber base, of which nearly 70 are non-partner subscribers;
  • Debut of a major new RLID application, LaneQuery, to support multiple property queries and reporting;
  • Addition of a City of Eugene Land Use Permit Records Search application to RLID; and
  • Continued provision of technical assistance to regional GIS and RLID users.


Regional Technology Coordination

Together with the Telephone Services Program, the Technology Services Coordination staff created the Public Agency Network (PAN), a high-speed fiber network connecting ten public agencies in the metro area.

Staff also:

  • Assisted the region in procurement of a jail management system as the first phase of a larger, multi-year local government agency criminal justice computer system (AIRS) replacement;
  • Coordinated the selection and procurement of a computer data backup system for the multi-agency Regional Information System (RIS); and
  • Led regional planning efforts in preparation for a new network operating system.

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