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Log Cabin Democrat

1-800-678-5423 (501) 327-6621 fax: (501) 327-6787

1058 Front Street P.O. Box 969 Conway, AR 72033

mail@thecabin.net

Conway may sell CAPCA building to pay for Y2K fix By RENEE HUNTER Log Cabin Staff Writer Wednesday, September 15, 1999 E-Mail this story to a friend Respond to this story

Conway is considering a $650,000 computer package to bring its finance, police and court departments into Y2K compliance and upgrade the systems so they will be in good shape for several years.

"We have limped along for the last five or six years with what we have," said finance officer Perry Faulkner.

The AS-400 IBM system the city is looking at will provide functional stability, allow enough storage for the city's growth, integrate and interface with other city systems and can be added to, according to Faulkner. It will also end data-entry duplication in the three departments.

When city officials began looking at Y2K solutions, they began with less costly ones, according to Mayor Tab Townsell, but after talking to vendors and visiting other cities that had already moved on the problem, they decided to go with a "Cadillac" system for the city's current needs at a bottom-line cost, with capability for adding modules as needed, the mayor said.

The council heard presentations from two companies: HTE and New World Systems.

Training on the new system was discussed, and neither company would absolutely guarantee it could be completed and the system could "go live" by Jan. 1.

"What will we do if we can't?" asked Alderman Maurice Moix.

"We'll be using three-by-five index cards," said the police department's David Anthony.

The city does not have money available for the upgrade, so the mayor offered two proposals for funding: Asking Conway Corp. to help and selling the old hospital building at Western and College avenues, where Community Action Program for Central Arkansas (CAPCA) is housed.

"This is certainly atypical," he said as justification for going to the utility. "It only comes up once every thousand years."

The city recently obtained two appraisals -- $278,000 and $337,000 -- for the CAPCA building. The council instructed the mayor to advertise for bids.

The department heads have not yet decided which system to recommend, but promised to have a recommendation within the week. A special council meeting will be called at that time to make a decision.

Also tabled for future consideration was a $60,000 proposal prepared by consultant Keith Pierce to upgrade and make compliant the other city departments. The aldermen wanted additional time to study the proposal.

http://www.thecabin.net/stories/091599/loc_0915990002.html

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), September 17, 1999

Answers

What are they running now? An IBM System/36 or /38? I suspect there are a *lot* of local governments still running those *non-remediable* machines.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), September 17, 1999.

Y2K CANNOT BE FIXED!

-- Jack (jsprat@eld.net), September 17, 1999.

I live in Ark. not too far from Conway. At least Conway is thinking about y2k, most Ark.cities haven't gotten that far into it yet. My hometown paper had an article last year about how the town clowns went to a conference and came back saying that yes y2k could be a problem and the mayor should form a committee to look into the matter. I am as safe in my rural area as I would be anywhere uless I had millions to relocate my whole family and buy an island.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), September 17, 1999.