The Town of Lakeville Technology Subcommittee discussed a CivicPlus quote for a website redesign at its July 1 meeting and agreed to solicit feedback from municipal employees, the public and the town’s communications committee before deciding whether to proceed.

Committee members said the CivicPlus quote is time-limited and that the town should move quickly: one member noted the quote is valid through August and that a decision will be needed before that timeline. The subcommittee chair said the committee will solicit input from municipal employees and the public and coordinate with Lorraine Caboni, chair of the Communications and Citizen Outreach Committee.

Committee members raised technical and security questions about parts of the CivicPlus proposal. Aaron Goldrick said Cloudflare — named in the quote for DNS/domain hosting — often requests the transfer of a domain to its service, and asked whether the town is prepared to do that. Goldrick said, “CloudFlare is requiring that… you have to transfer your entire domain to them,” and asked the managed service provider to clarify what CivicPlus requires.

Bob McNally confirmed he maintains the town’s DNS records today and agreed to follow up with CivicPlus to determine whether CivicPlus or Cloudflare would become the authoritative DNS host or whether the town could retain DNS hosting. The committee asked staff to get a written clarification from the CivicPlus contact (recorded on the quote as John Pugh) and to report back to the committee.

Members also discussed meeting minutes and automated transcription tools. Committee members said they had seen AI-generated minutes delivered shortly after meetings in other contexts; a member noted Microsoft Teams and other platforms now offer automated transcription and summary features. The committee tasked members to research vendors and possible solutions and report options at the next meeting.

Finally, members asked that IT be included earlier in planning for the town’s new fire station, noting the police dispatch interfaces and other integrations that will need coordination. The committee asked that Bob McNally be involved in building-committee discussions so IT needs are addressed before installation.

The committee set its next meeting for Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. and assigned follow-up tasks: staff will collect feedback on website needs; McNally will follow up on DNS hosting; members will research automated meeting-minute options.