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STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS CHR. SIRACUSA: Our next step is Statements From The Public On Agenda Items. I have two slips here and the first is from Richard Bidleman; subject matter is computer and other resource. Richard is representing himself. RICHARD BIDLEMAN (At this time Richard Bidleman came forward to address members of the Commission.) MR. BIDLEMAN: I am Richard Bidleman, I am a resident of Puna; and just for the record, I taught Computer Science for 35 years. I taught a lot of you folks in those 35 years. I think that it is very important that you not only have the resources available to you in terms of hardware and software, but itÓs very important that you have the people resources available to you as well. I hope that the Secretary has passed out my testimony to you so that you have a hard copy in front of you. CHR. SIRACUSA: Yes she has. MR. BIDLEMAN: I would like to read it for the audience if I may. In terms of computer and software resources, it would seem that the following minimum should apply. Number 1; if the public can prepare their own plan, they should have reasonable access to the same resources as the committee. This includes maps, population statistics, computer software and whatever other resources that can be brought to bear on the process. If the committee will be looking at stuff, like maps and redistricting information on a computer; a projection system should be supplied for open meetings and working sessions, so that you can all view it and you are not crowded around a single screen. The State has software to support the Redistricting process. The following should apply to the implementation, training, and access to this resource including, but not limited to the following: (a) 24/7 access from any location; home, work or county offices. I think this is terribly important since you folks got off to such a late start in this process. René told me today that you folks are doubling up on your meetings to try to play catch up. So, I think you ought to have the convenience of those resources whether you are at home or at work. Training sessions for users should be done by a professional trainer; not by an IT (Information Technology) person. IT people are lousy trainers. You need somebody who does training. For at least eight hours a day, technical support people should be readily available for phone support and have the ability to log in to a user session and assist with any issues in using that software. What I mean by that is you might be using the computer and you canÓt get from A to B because you are stuck. You ought to be able to pick up the telephone, call somebody, they log in to your computer session and they get you out of trouble. I do it all the time from my home. It is not a big deal. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (d) should be published on a web site. You folks are going to have problems, the IT people are going to have answers, and those answers ought to be published on the web so that you can at least go look at the FAQÓs before you start asking other kinds of questions. ItÓs easier for you to do it and you donÓt have to impact the resource people quite so much. Finally, (e) should resources not be available, all users should be notified by email. I would hate to see you folks coming in to the County find out that they are down or not available. That is my testimony, thank you very much. 2