Waxhaw Happenings May 2018 | Page 4

Meet the Information Technology Department: NICK BAHNWEG & MATT FAULKENBERRY Three years ago, the I.T. department was tasked with a challenge: to build a live streaming system for the town meetings under the restriction that they had to incorporate the existing equipment in the Police Department Community Room. Both Nick and Matt devised a streaming production studio that is envied by most other local municipalities. Since then, several other large projects have challenged the I.T. department like: connect all town owned buildings with satellites, install video camera security systems and their latest venture, install security access key card systems which, will be rolled out in the spring of 2018. Nick Bahnweg (left) serves as the Director of I.T. for the Town of Waxhaw. Alongside Matt Faulkenberry (right), the Information Technology Assistant, the I.T. Department is responsible for some serious technology within the town. This includes implementing a program called Laserfiche, a paperless document management system responsible for automating processes that manage town documents and completing online forms for residents. In addition to being environmentally friendly, this program has improved the security and efficiency of handling resident documents and form submissions and payments. If you’ve connected to the free Wi-Fi offered by the Town of Waxhaw, you’ve enjoyed one of I.T.’s understated projects. This WiFi network rides on the same town infrastructure but is segmented off to keep the town network safe and free from hacking. This means that users of the WiFi can’t gain access to any town information. Nick recently became certified for access control which will allow the town to deploy its own keyless entry systems. This project will reduce costs significantly by eliminating monthly charges for vendor installed equipment and services. The first I.T. projects will be the Public Service department and Nesbit Park Concessions stand. The team is also responsible for the lighting of the Water Tank during holiday events and the Water Tank WebCam. You can see I.T.s work every second Tuesday evening on YouTube when they stream the Board of Commissioner’s meetings.