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1995-03-17 Work Session .' )' "'IIIl "MliNUTES OF WORK SESSION, MARCH 17, 1995 RADIO COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVEMENT PLAN , PAGE t57,7 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners held a Work Session on Friday, March 17, 1995, at 10:30 a.m. in Room 501 of the County Administration Building, 320 Chestnut Street,. Wilmington, North Carolina. e Members present were: Commissioners Sandra Barone; William E. sisson, Jr.; Vice-Chairman E. L. Mathews, Jr.; County Manager Allen O'Neal; and Deputy Clerk to the Board, Teresa P. Elmore. Chairman Robert G. Greer and Commissioner William A. Caster were absent. Vice-Chairman Mathews called the Work Session to order and announced the purpose of the meeting was to hear a presentation on the Radio Communications Improvement Plan by Director Dan Summers of the Emergency Management Department. County Manager O'Neal introduced Ed Vosnock and Fred Worsh, members on the Fire and Law Enforcement Subcommittee of the Communication Task Force. He expressed appreciation to them for their commitment since 1992 in the extensive study of finding. the appropriate communication system for the County and the public safety agencies. Retired Fire Chief Gary Rowe, also a member on the subcommittee, was acknowledged for his dedicated service to the task force. Mr. O'Neal explained there are two routes for obtaining the equipment, and staff is recommending the rental approach. Renting the equipment is consistent with State standards. e Director Summers reported the Communications Task Force is recommending a flexible and cost-effective system. The Board of Fire Commissioners fully endorses the proposed 800mhz radio system which will enhance public safety response. The system will allow future expansion for a consolidated City and County government and public safety agencies of the beach communities and UNCW. Director Dan Summers reported on the extensive research by the task force in determining the radio communication needs of the agencies. visits were made to twelve local governments throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia to see how the agencies operated with their systems. These agencies recommended to focus on having standardized equipment and to develop a working partnership with one vendor in order to have a completely compatible system. Currently the two major systems are Ericson/GE and Motorola/IBM. Fifteen local governments in the State are using the Motorola equipment with two governments using the Ericson/GE radio system. The three-year-old Computer Aided Dispatch equipment in the Sheriff's 911 Center is rental equipment from Motorola. If the County chooses renting the Motorola equipment, the system will be compatible with the Sheriff's Department and no down-time will be needed to combine the systems. . e The guaranteed service life of a communication system is 10-15 years; however, the recommended equipment is guaranteed for 20 years. The Motorola equipment is modular and can be modified easily for future expansions. Ini tially, the equipment can be adaptable for the Water and Sewer District, public safety, Inspections, Animal Control and other departments. 'During emergency situations, departments can borrow walkie-talkies from other departments when necessary. Mr. Summers recommended renting the equipment instead of a direct purchase. One advantage of the rental approach is that it gives the County more flexibility. The technology is changing so quickly, that purchased equipment will fast become obsolete. If the County is not satisfied with the equipment, the investment is not made and the County can acquire other equipment. The proposed equipment allows the County to add agencies with a pro-rata share fee. County departments and the Fire Districts ....4 / ( MINUTES OF WORK SESSION, MARCH 17,' 1995 RADIO COMMUNICATIONS IMPROVEMENT PLAN PAGE -5',7,8 will not be charged; however, Wrightsville Beach, Wilmington Fire Department, and other outside agencies will be charged. Another advantage with renting the equipment will be a better utilization of funds. The vendor has the investment and will be more inclined to give better maintenance to the system. However, the county will need to hire a technical engineer while the equipment is being set up. Rent will be $173,000 per year, plus maintenance of $20,000 per year. o If the County proceeds with a purchase bid procedure, expensive consultants will have to be contracted and additional staff will be required for operations and maintenance. To purchase the equipment, the investment will be $789,500, plus maintenance of $155,000 ($100,000 for diagnostic equipment). At the first meeting in April, the Commissioners will be requested to adopt a resolution to rent the equipment from Motorola. If adopted the company will do an engineering assessment in Mayor June with installation of the equipment early in January 1996. Under the proposed plan, $800,000 will be transferred from the Fire service Tax District to a capital project account. Mr. Vosnock stated geographical area that is would be a tremendous communication system to be a disaster situation. New Hanover County is in the last not connected to the state system. It asset with many benefits for the compatible with the state system during ADJOURNMENT Vice-Chairman Mathews expressed appreciation to the Board of Fire commissioners and the Communications Task Force for their dedicated effort in developing the communication plan for the county and to Mr. Summers for his informative presentation. The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m. o Respectfully submitted, ~~{J~ Teresa P. Elmore Deputy Clerk to the Board o .