January 28 2002 Board Meeting
NEW HANOVER COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER 20 North 4th Street Wilmington, NC 28401 Phone: (910) 341-4258 Fax: (910) 341-4038 E-Steve Smith mail: stsmith@nhcgov.com Director
Memorandum To: PSCC personnel From: Steve Smith Subject: NHPSCC Policy Board Meeting Date: January 28, 2002 The New Hanover Public Safety Communications Center Policy Board met on Wednesday,
January 16, 2002, at 9:00 am, in Room 501 of the County Administration Building. Present at the meeting were: Frank Blackley, Chairman Asst. Chief, Wilmington Fire Dept. Andy Atkinson,
Vice-Chairman New Hanover County *Steve Smith, Secretary Director, PSCC Bill Whisnant, Deputy City Manager Wilmington City Manager’s Office Lt. Ed Pigford Wilmington Police Department
Maj. Nathan Johnson New Hanover Sheriff’s Department Donnie Hall, Chief New Hanover Fire Services Brian Roberts, Chief Carolina Beach Fire Department Kurt Bartley Carolina Beach Police
Department Everett Ward, Chief Wrightsville Beach Fire Department *Bill Clontz, Director New Hanover IT Not present: Ed Woodard, Chief, New Hanover EMS *Dan Summers, New Hanover Emergency
Management [* indicates non-voting members]
Meeting Summary I. Roll Call II. Recognition of new members Proposed new members were introduced. They were: 1. Kurt Bartley, Carolina Beach Police Dept. (alternate), and Brian Roberts,
Chief of Carolina Beach Fire Dept. (primary) 2. Everett Ward, Chief of Wrightsville Beach Fire Dept. (primary) III. Minutes of last meeting The minutes of the last meeting were reviewed
and approved. IV. Old business A. Wrightsville Beach has formally requested to be represented on the Board B. Carolina Beach has formally requested to be represented on the Board C.
Proposed amendments to Bylaws: (attachment 1) 1. Amendment to Article V, A, I added subsection "i" to address the issue of creating subcommittees, gives Chairman authority to form subcommittees,
as needed, with approval of Board. The Board approved bylaws, with proposed amendments regarding membership and formation of subcommittees. The Bylaws were adopted by the New Hanover
County Board of Commissioners on January 22, 2002. D. Response to questions regarding data data retrieval and system overview by Bill Clontz, NHC IT Director. Bill Clontz made a presentation
to the Board in response to action items from November 28, 2001. Those items were: 1. A review of CAD features and recommendations for improved use Bill provided an overview of how CAD
processes information and interacts with the GIS component. There was discussion about the need for consistent, quality information, which may involve careful scrutiny of data/map relationships.
Unit recommendation and streamlining of procedures were brought out as key issues. Familiarization training will be set up for user agency personnel to enhance understanding of dispatch
process. 2. A review and explanation of addressing issues An explanation, using specific address anomalies, was given as to the method used by OSSI in showing address locations on the
map. Bill showed how inconsistent addressing schemes could impact relative position indication on the map at CAD. The need to move toward “point addressing” was brought up as a way to
improve the situation. There was discussion about the importance of carefully reviewing proposed addressing for new development. Board member Bill Whisnant offered information regarding
a concerted effort by City and County planning staff to more closely regulate addressing.
Also discussed was the importance of having the CAD information and MSAG be consistent. 3. A review of network performance and recommendations for improvement. Necessary improvements
have been made to the network. Charts provided by NHC IT showed consistent performance overall. E. Progress on SOP manual 1. Audio tape request/production Review of the proposed policy
on audio tape request/production resulted in direction that, under Section 2(a)(i), tape requests will be completed within fourteen (14) calendar days. 2. Complaints/concerns procedure
Review of the proposed policy on complaints/concerns resulted in direction that an “exigent circumstances clause” be added. Director Smith advised he would provide the Board with several
proposed policies for review and response prior to the next Board meeting. F. Progress on Center expansion Plans for expanding the Communications Center are continuing. Freeman White
architects and Motorola’s engineer have examined the site so recommendations can be made. G. Progress on console and phone contracts Director Smith advised the Board that the month to
month payment to Motorola to continue the present contract would be $242 per month, plus $2,048 per month maintenance. An option to purchase the equipment for a nominal amount will not
be pursued at present. A new contract with Motorola will be negotiated for radio equipment. The major change will be hardware, which should significantly impact performance. New console
furnishings will be included and it is desirable to have the planning coincide with proposed expansion. Motorola will be providing a proposal to provide radio, phone and digital recording
for the Center. The phone and recording portions are not sole source and may be dealt with as separate issues, if so desired. H. Inventory of major equipment in Center Board members
were provided with a listing of major telecommunications equipment in the Center. I. IT subcommittee Members were asked to consider who should be named to a subcommittee to review issues
related to to Center information systems. J. 800 MHz subcommittee Members were asked to consider who should be named to a subcommittee to review issues related to the radio system.
K. Progress on audio recorder replacement Options are being considered in replacing existing digital recording equipment. This may be supplied as part of the Motorola contract, but that
has yet to be decided. L. Review of Monthly Report format (attachment 2) The report format was approved. V. New business A. Reclassification of two telecommunicator positions to: 1.
Administrative Support Specialist This position is in the process of being filled. 2. Information Systems Technician This position will not be filled for the time being. B. Surcharge
revenue and expense review The Board was provided current balances for the E-911 and wireless surcharge accounts. C. E-911 database /MSAG information. (Brenda Hewlett) Brenda Hewlett
answered questions about the E-911 database and other aspects of her duties. Member Bill Whisnant inquired as to whether Brenda could include Wilmington Police Dept. activities in her
early morning report on WAAV radio. She advised it would not be a problem if the Board desires. Member Lt. Pigford stated it would benefit the Police Department to do so. Director Smith
initiated discussion about the need to properly request and document changes in CAD. Untested changes can cause problems in other areas of CAD. Member Bill Whisnant asked about visiting
the Center and was advised that visits and participation is welcome. Discussion was initiated about training processes and timelines in the Center. Brenda Hewlett gave an overview of
an average training cycle. Also discussed was the importance of having telecommunicators be able to attend conferences and seminars. Member Lt. Pigford asked about an electronic dissemination
of the information Brenda Hewlett provides on WAAV to all news sources and certain offices as a form of public education and information. D. New issues or concerns Chairman Blackley
initiated discussion regarding member conflicts with the meeting date, which had been decided on at the previous meeting. Members approved changing the meetings to the fourth (4th) Thursday
of the month, at 9:00 am. The next meeting will be February 28, 2002. Chairman Blackley requested that member information be updated and distributed by Director Smith. Chairman Blackley
asked members to forward potential agenda items to him or Director Smith.
Chairman Blackley asked Director Smith to prepare information to the Board regarding authorized expenditures from surcharge funds. Director Smith and Brenda Hewlett provided some information
and will report any changes at the next meeting. Member Bill Whisnant inquired as to the status of the Center budget and requested the budget be available for Board review before the
next meeting. VI. Adjournment at 11:24 am