WASHINGTON COUNTY-WIDE Digital Trunked P25 Phase 2 Interoperable EMERGENCY RADIO, PAGING & SYSTEM for sheriff, police, fire

Transcription

1 WASHINGTON COUNTY-WIDE Digital Trunked P25 Phase 2 Interoperable EMERGENCY RADIO, PAGING & SYSTEM for sheriff, police, fire departments ems first responders & ambulance Operating from a Joint Communications And Emergency Operations Center

2 VHF high band radio system ( mhz) is adopted in 1977 by the State of Iowa and replaces the old low band (37.10 & 37.20mhz) radio sets for police and fire emergency services statewide. Separate North and South repeater systems are installed in Kalona and Brighton to expand coverage for new low powered portable-on-the-hip handheld radios. In addition, the county develops a paging system for EMS (Emergency Medical Services) and fire department calls.

3 The communications center was placed into the re-modeled residence built in the 1960 s as the sheriff s residence and was attached to the Sheriff s Office and the County Jail. Picture is circa 2005

4 2 position communications operations existed from the 1980 s till This picture is circa 1999.

5 The communications center was remodeled into its current configuration in 2000.

6 The 2000 Radio system upgrade gave it a projected lifespan of 10 to 12 years.

7 Consultants produced a radio study in 2010 for a possible upgrade to the system. However, at that time, the radio system was still working satisfactorily. Due to the expected cost, and considering the economic situation at the time, no decisions were made to spend the money to upgrade the system that was still meeting our needs.

8 Between 2010 and 2016 the system was enhanced and problems that did crop up were dealt with on a need to do it now basis. New, replacement or upgrades included: -- the equipment and database was upgraded to meet State requirements. -- the radio traffic and call recording equipment was upgraded and is 10 years old and needs replacing now. -- the computer aided dispatch & mapping system was enhanced & upgraded.

9 Problems encountered: -- water continues to be problem in the basement during heavy rain events and could affect telephone 911 switching equipment located there. -- discovery and mitigation of radon in the building. -- recurring sewer and septic problems. -- discovery of mold in the building. -- electrical capabilities are maxed out. -- HVAC had problems keeping up with equipment generated heat.

10 In 2016 console repair parts had to be salvaged from obsolete and discarded systems. In 2017 we were faced with no alternate dispatch capability when the area was ordered evacuated due to a gas leak in the area. In 2017 HVAC failure in a tower equipment shelter took down the system.

11 In 2018 electrical shorts took out part of a dispatch station

12 October 2018 equipment room flooding

13 There continues to be problems today with car and portable radio coverage in parts of the county Portable Talk Out from Base Portable Talk Back to Base

14 In the summer of 2017 the combined board and commissions of the users of the county emergency radio communications system decided jointly that now was the time to act. This included the Communications Commission, the Board, the Emergency Management Commission, plus the Sheriff, Communications Supervisor, and the Emergency Management Coordinator. These boards and commissions are made up of representatives of the mayors of every city in the county, as well as county elected officials. Fire departments and EMS providers have been consulted at every step along the way.

15 The first step was to retain a consultant (Elert & Assoc.) to assist with documenting the state of the system and to help to outline the concept and performance parameters of a new system. This RFP (request for proposal) resulted in a system estimated cost of $10.5M that includes replacement of all users mobile, portable, pager and base station radios.

16 The cost includes total replacement of all radios for law enforcement, fire and ems in the County including pagers, portables, mobiles and base units. Law Enforcement mobile/portable 38/43/0 EMS mobile/portable/pager 10/57/93 Fire Dept. mobile/portable/pager 74/323/265 Communications and EMA 5/14/0 Control stations 16 Siren Controllers 13

17 The Board of Supervisors authorized issuance of General Obligation Bonds to fund the radio project in an amount not to exceed $10.5M, and with that commitment on the table, the RFP was released for bid to interested vendors in January, Without a funding commitment, vendors would not likely put time and effort into responding to the RFP.

18 The State of Iowa adopted the ISICS radio system and will be online statewide in By 2025, all emergency services radios need to be upgraded to be interoperable to the ISICS digital P25 Phase 1 system to meet State and Federal guidelines. The present VHF radio systems will no longer be usable.

19 ISICS Iowa State Interoperable Communications System by Motorola SARA Shared Area Radio Agreement by RACOM

20 General radio project phases: Radio system program development required performance parameters RFP release & choose vendor negotiate design specs -- we are here schematic design & construction documents install and test beginning in Summer of 2019

21 General Comm Center EOC timetable Preliminary layout Schematic & design development we are here RFP for contracts bids Choose contractors Begin Construction May-June 2019

22 Once the space needs were determined for the communications center and radio equipment through the vendor proposals, we began to integrate the needs of the radio operators and the Emergency Operations Center. Plans were initially made for a combined PSAP, communications and emergency management operations facility, similar to the Johnson County Emergency Communications Center, downsized for Washington County s projected needs.

23 Anticipating a fall special election on a bond referendum to fund the building, the firm of Carl A. Nelson & Co. was hired to help define the project and choose an architect to build a facility to industry standards that meet FEMA specification guidelines. Neumann Monson Architects, LLC was chosen.

24 Once a layout concept could be sketched out it was priced using known examples of similar structures recently built. Estimates indicated the cost of the hardened structure were between $350 and $450 per sq.ft. Those same industry standards for space requirements for similar use types resulted in an initial floorplan layout of about 9000 sq.ft. That initial estimated price would be between $3.15M and $4.05M

25 Initial position of a proposed 9000 sq ft facility Lexington Blvd is at the top the present sheriff s office at the left & jail to the right

26 Preliminary Communications & Emergency Operations Center layout approximately 6800 sq ft

27 A price of approximately $3M for the building project has been the target for the combined Communications and Emergency Operations Center facility. Funding for this part of the project is different from the radio system because the radio system itself qualifies as an essential function, but the building to house it and the backup EOC does not. No referendum was required to authorize spending up to $10.5Mfor that project.

28 Note that the spending limit does not mean we would actually borrow it all for the project. In a similar fashion to the cost of the radio system, it initially looked like it could cost up to $10.5M, but when the RFP was returned, the proposed cost of the system was in the $6M range that includes a 10 year maintenance contract.

29 The Board of Supervisors planned to fund the building that houses and controls the radio system and the Emergency Operations Center by borrowing (bonding) for the funds. A referendum question was planned on a special election ballot in September or October so that a building would be in place when RACOM delivered radio equipment. The referendum must pass with a 60% or greater vote in favor and would authorize spending not to exceed a designated limit. That limit has not been set but could be up to $3.5M in consideration of any unknown contingencies.

30 However, in July the State advised they could not authorize a special election for this purpose prior to the General Election in November. The deadline for filing to put that issue on the November ballot was August 29. In order for a building to be ready for installation of radio equipment, the it is essential that the project keep moving forward as quickly as possible to preserve the costs contracted by RACOM.

31 Bond Counsel for the County prepared all necessary paperwork for the ballot question, and it was before the BoS and on the agenda to adopt on August 21 st. The resolution to begin that process was discussed at that time. Some board members expressed the desire to wait a week to gather more public input, so no action was taken.

32 When the county s bond counsel learned 2 days later that the resolution to put the issue on the November ballot had not been adopted, he met with the County Auditor, Treasurer, and 3 Supervisors (at various different times) during ISAC sponsored training sessions in Des Moines. Bond counsel offered an option that allowed bonding by creating rural Urban Renewal District for the parcel of property the facility would be built on. In this case, the BoS holds a public hearing and declares the intent to issue General Obligation Bonds to pay for the project. This option is subject to a referendum by petition.

33 This option seemed to be a clean, straightforward way to obtain funding, especially given that in all the public presentations that had been given on the project, and of all the public discussions and comments on the project, no significant objections had ever been raised. This just did not seem to be controversial at all, given that we need new radio equipment, and this plan will provide the funding to build a place to house the emergency services communications and operations.

34 Following receipt of the information about the Urban Renewal option offered by bond counsel, no resolution appeared on the BoS agenda for the August 28 meeting. With no action taken on a resolution to place the question on the November ballot, the rural Urban Renewal Plan is moving forward.

35 Aerial View of Urban Renewal Parcel Map

36 IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES October 9 public hearing to adopt the urban renewal plan and set a public hearing date on the issuance of GO bonds for Oct 30 October a published notice of the Oct. 30 hearing and allowing for a petition forcing an election can be filed October 30 public hearing on the intent to issue GO bonds for the project, and if no petition is filed, the resolution to issue the bonds can then be adopted. Bonds can likely be sold and funding obtained in December, 2018

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