02 28 2008 Board Meeting
NEW HANOVER COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER 230 Government Center Dr, Suite 185 Wilmington, NC 28403 Phone: (910) 798-6922 Fax: (910) 798-6925 E-mail: bhewlett@nhcgov.com
Brenda Hewlett Acting Director Memorandum To: Public Safety Communications Center Policy Board Members From: Brenda Hewlett, Acting Director Subject: February 28, 2008 Board Summary
Date: February 28, 2008 A Public Safety Communications Center Policy Board meeting was held on Thursday, February 29, 2008 at 10:00 AM in the Emergency Operating Center, 220 Government
Center Drive, Wilmington, North Carolina. MEMBERS PRESENT: Sterling Powell Robert Matheson, Excused MEMBERS ABSENT: Brenda Hewlett Lawrence Bergman, Excused Jan Kavanaugh Dennis Cooper,
Excused Cliff Robinson William Younginer, Excused Brett Ham Sharon Kane, Excused Tom Eason Donnie Hall, Excused Warren Lee Cynthia Deacon Michael Core Genia Boswell Ron Jordan Jerry
Brewer Duane Ward Kurt Bartley Teresa Fountain John Carey Bob Weeks GUESTS:Debora Cottle, NHC Public Safety Communications Center Jason Adams, Wireless Communications Chris Furnari,
Wireless Communications/Motorola Holt Watts, Motorola Andrew Curd, Motorola
Chairman Powell called the meeting to order at 10:11 A.M. Chairman Powell asked if everyone had reviewed the January 24, 2008 minutes and if anyone had any questions, comments or changes.
Brenda Hewlett mentioned that the date on Page 2, 9th paragraph should be December 2010, not January 2010. Chairman Powell asked if there were any other corrections and Jerry Brewer
said the money he paid was $433 but that it was a Motorola issue for repairs, not a Wireless issue. Chairman Powell asked if there was a motion to approve the minutes with the above
corrections. Warren Lee made a motion and Michael Core seconded the motion. Motion approved. Old Business: Warren Lee stated that the progress of the 800 MHz rebanding is still ongoing.
Warren had a conference call with the contractors with Federal Engineering, the attorney in Washington and Frank Vanderbilt with HICAPS (Hood Information Control and Planning Systems)
who contracts with Motorola. There is discussion between Sprint/Nextel and our group regarding contract issues with the hours that contractors are requesting payment for work but that
doesn’t affect the agencies, they will still be compensated with the rates submitted earlier, just that there is an issue between them on the amount of hours required to get the work
done. Warren stressed the importance to them on the conference call when radios come in be rebanded that the mobile and portable that are associated with each other to get each done
at the same time. This is practical for the sake of efficiency but also to keep the unit tied up as little as possible. Chairman Powell turned the meeting over to Andrew Curd with Motorola
to discuss radio issues and leasing programs. Andrew introduced Holt Watts, Mike Cavalluzzi and Jason Adams. Holt Watts is Andrews Motorola manager and here to fully support everyone.
Mike Cavalluzzi is the MR Sales through Wireless and represents Motorola. He is here as the local resource and to help Andrew. Chris Furnari is with Wireless out of the Raleigh area
and is a project manager and helped with the P25 system. Jason Adams with Wireless is here also he is the lead tech in this area and has helped with the issues with the flashes. Andrew
expressed his appreciation of the invite to the meeting and would like to come to the meetings on a continuing basis to keep in tune with the agencies in the county and keep current
with the issues. The system was actually implemented and went live around June of 2007. There have been several inquiries about preparation and the radios for P25. There were several
radios that were bought without P25 which should not have been sold that way. This was the first thing changed when Andrew came this way but there were about 100 radios that weren’t
P25 compatible.
Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach took the initiative to have Motorola evaluate the radios. That started in March of 2007 so that hopefully they could be ready when P25 went online.
There were issues that came along the way like the inventorying of the radios several times to get the right information to order the flash codes. To date there have been 128 upgrades
which is a savings to the county as this was not a part of the original options purchased. The internal cost for this so far has been about $56,000. When everything gets going, we hope
this is seen as a positive action on Motorola’s part. Another issue Motorola has had to deal with is Coastal’s closing. They were to do the flash upgrades for Wrightsville Beach and
Carolina Beach. Some were completed and some were not. There is a new internal order for flashes to complete the upgrades for Wrightsville Beach Police Department. We will check with
Chief Younginer to make sure we have enough to complete Carolina Beach. The radios were not a part of the original system plan and we did not make appropriate arrangements to make sure
they were going to be accounted for because there was not a project manager concerned with the users having the right equipment out there. This is why they are here today, to make this
right with everybody. With Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach, this has been a lesson learned. Now we know what to do now as far as the City and Sheriffs Department is concerned to
make arrangements so that this will not be an issue. Andrew then opened the floor for any questions. Chairman Powell responded by stating that the issues Wrightsville Beach had been
squared away with the meeting they had with Motorola and was still working on their stuff. Andrew stated that they had everything in and just needed to schedule the installation and
see if they are correct. Wrightsville Beach just needs to make sure their templates look okay and if they are ready to move on that as well which Motorola will help with as well. Kurt
Bartley stated that Carolina Beach Police Department is still waiting on encryption issues. Andrew was going to address that with Chief Younginer with an internal order for the list
that he has. The flashes had been delivered to Coastal but Andrew is unsure if they will address the Ocean Rescue issues. Andrew will get clarifications and make arrangements to get
those. Everything has been approved with the help of Andrew’s manager. There needs to be a confirmation of what is here. Warren asked if the flashes were located at Coastal and Andrew
stated they were sent to Coastal. Warren also asked when they were visited in December, were they picked up and Andrew told everyone that yes, Jason picked up all of them. They recently
found the ones that Wrightsville Beach needed were there. There have been some that they ordered, which was a new request, 42 were for Carolina Beach. Some were 80Ps, some were P25 encryption.
Some of those got done but not all the work was completed. Motorola needs to evaluate what they have and if they don’t have it, they will get it here within a week or so.
The recent order received within the last week or so included UNCW. Correction, Jason said they were not here and Andrew said yes but they would be in within the week. This is caused
from me not understanding who has been doing what. Andrew got the flashes in and was thinking that everyone’s needs were handled and actually there were some that weren’t completed or
the agencies did not know the flashes were there. Andrew stated that the closing of Coastal and Wireless taking over would hopefully be a good thing. Jason and Wireless are there to
put in the system infrastructure, make sure everything was working and maintaining the day to day business. They are handling not only New Hanover but also Pender and Brunswick Counties.
They have been given the moniker of Motorola Service Shop and have gone above and beyond that outside of Motorola. Hopefully everyone will see this benefit that Wireless can provide
as in the Raleigh and Charlotte areas. Andrew now has 40 other counties that he has in his territory and and he tries to be as responsive as possible. As the new responsibilities have
been added, they have brought in Mike Cavalluzzi, who represents Motorola fully and they are in constant contact. If there is something that Mike needs help with, he will go to Andrew.
He knows pricing and is a good liaison with the shop as well; this is what makes him good support. If is anything that is beyond Mike’s support, let Andrew know. It is your choice if
you want to go to either Mike or Andrew. Mike is local, so he might have a quicker response. Andrew is kept posted by Mike but it is good to keep in touch with everyone and their needs.
If there is anything not handled in a timely manner or if you just want to talk to Andrew, which is the right way to do it. Andrew asked if there was anything else that was to be discussed
and Chairman Powell brought up Leasing and Maintenance. Andrew said the maintenance issues such as radios returned still and is not fixed, should be brought up with Andrew. They will
start checking the radios before they go back to the department they came from so that is one thing they could start doing is a double check. Chairman Powell said he was under the impression
the $433 flat rate would repair the radio no matter what but he has just gotten an estimate back for $905 because of water damage. Andrew said that was basically true but water damage
was an exclusion in the maintenance agreement. Andrew said that he would be glad to send out a list of exclusions to the group and asked Holt if there was a disclosure statement and
Holt told us there was one that shows all of the exclusions. Essentially the list includes water damage and abuse, i.e. running over the radio, etc. There is an additional maintenance
program that is a no questions asked replacement policy that is about $10 to $15 per radio on top of the maintenance contract. Andrew will try to get everyone more details. Certainly
it is not needed on every radio but department by department you can get on some of your radios but may not be needed on all of the radios, just depending on use. This is new for Motorola
but is not provided by any other radio vendor. Andrew will get this sent to Chairman Powell to forward to everyone. Chairman Powell asked if there was anything else and was asked about
the factory repairs that had a problem. Jerry Brewer said that their radios were sent for repair because they
would come up with an error reading and beeping after 10 minutes so they were sent back. They came back three times from Depot (?) and it had the same problem. The last time it came
back it was repaired. The best thing he has been doing is getting more information than just a note stuck on the radio with “broken” on it. The more details he can get the better for
the repair end. That would be better for everyone’s benefit. Wireless will have their records but more detail would help out Wireless and they test it before it goes to Depot. Sometimes
things go to Depot the same day they come in, so it would be best to have all the details. If you have questions, call Tom (Hood), Mike or Jason, they are your first line of defense.
Chris informed everyone they have purchased and will be moving into the Coastal building to give Wireless more room as they expand in the area. Have patience as they had some internal
things to take care of to get everyone into their system county wise. Call before the aggravation sets in, Chris is a project manager but is happy to take any calls and will try to help
out any way he can. Andrew informed everyone that when they get moved into the Coastal building within the next month or so, Wireless will be able to step up as well. Tom will keep everyone
posted. John Carey asked if they also had anything to do with the computers and video systems and said he would like to talk to Motorola about them. Teresa Fountain stated that the quality
of support is horrendous not locally but in Illinois. They have six MDTs that have been in service for about eighteen months and in the past year, and at least three have been to Motorola
and the hard drives have been replaced. There has been a lack of quality and Motorola is going to continue to support the MDTs for three years. The Mobile Vision cameras have been in
service for about six years. They were presented as the best and have had to have additional memory and the memory board was replaced within the first 90 days. This doesn’t present very
good quality control and to have to deal with Illinois. This doesn’t inspire her to recommend Motorola to anyone. Customer Service with Andrew or Maryanne isn’t the issue with the local
level. The turn around time for repairs is time consuming to put the unit back in service as far as reloading data. Andrew did mention that it does look bad on the local level but their
hands are tied trying to get things like that accomplished. Historically these issues have not had a good track record. John Carey stated that these issues that are in the past but asked
what the role is for the future. He is extremely gun shy of the new system. The radios were the best things ever made but the MDTs and MVRs are the question. He would like to know what
the plans are for the next six months or the next year for Motorola in this area. He would like to know this, as $23,000 for the purchase of a Motorola AFIS system is an extreme amount
of money for a minor user like Wrightsville Beach but they do have some concerns. Holt replied they they were not a minor user, New Hanover and all the entities are a big part of Motorola
P25 technology. They are making the investment such as the ones Andrew discussed with Wireless, with an MR here to interact on a day to day basis. Secondly, the MVE and the first level
MDT were a third party piece of equipment that supposedly went through a quality check and were adopted by Motorola. It has been since decided maybe the quality was not there and they
have developed and manufactured their own MDTs.
John Carey would like to know what can be done for them and other end users that bought into the Motorola brand that are now having trouble with these units. Andrew replied that they
are trying to get the warranties extended and are working on that even though that is not much, but it might be the best they can do. You will still be out, using that MDT when it goes
down which is unfortunate. John asked if instead of extending a warranty for a piece of equipment that has proven less than optimal, it would make sense that Motorola provide top of
the line equipment. Repairs are costing time and money and is making for poor relationships. Being that Wrightsville Beach only has four or five units, couldn’t Motorola get the right
equipment. When you go and try to sell other areas, that you can give out other end users and you can get a good report about Motorola. Holt stated that this was the first he was aware
of the issues with MDTs and MVEs and they can look into that. Andrew said that they were aware of MVE issues and that is not a secret. The supplier migrated to a new solution which Motorola
sells, the DP2. That is not a Motorola branded product anymore but they still sell it. There are upgrade options that will be available in the future but in the meantime the extended
warranty is still an option that Motorola feels good about. John Carey is in contact with other counties one being Carteret. They have asked how they (Wrightsville Beach) progressed
with the move to the center as they are combining four or five departments into one. He thought it would be good idea to see how our migration works. They are asking what they are doing
and what kind of equipment they are using and he would like to give them a good report about Motorola. Andrew stated this is one of the reasons why the changes have been made. Kurt Bartley
mentioned that they had two of them and one went in the trash when they were told it wasn’t worth fixing and the other is barely working. When you spend $3,000 and are told that it is
$4,200 to repair it, its cheaper to go out and buy a $900 Dell and put an air card in it rather than put that and more into an eighteen month old laptop. Andrew said that he didn’t have
an argument for that. Teresa stated it is not only a monetary issue but also a safety issue. When they have a unit go down and there is an officer at a stop, they have no records to
back up a claim that may arise at a later date whether that video could be used as evidence in either a criminal proceeding or a lawsuit involving the department what is Motorola going
to do for them when they have no audio or video. Andrew replied that he did not have an answer. Department policies are that officers get a radio, a gun and a camera. It is a known fact
that it is a critical piece of equipment and they need to come up with a creative way to address these issues and they will try and work on it. When the first MVEs were put in use and
now they are constantly trying to replace them through warranty. John wanted Motorola to steer us away from a product they can’t stand behind and have shown to have problems. Don’t try
to sell it then say that the quality isn’t as good as first thought.
When Andrew first came to Wilmington, the product was working well then over the next few months there were constant little issues. There were unforeseen failures and the equipment went
to zero. Andrew will not be selling the new products because of the previous problems that have arisen until they are proven items. Holt says that there are quality products that they
manufacture and support even though there are some speed bumps with some of the radios. Motorola is invested in quality, third party equipment they may not do as good a job as they should.
Holt and Andrew will not promote the products they are not comfortable with and will try to resolve the issues with the MDTs and MVEs. John wanted to know if there was any way to get
them through the next few years till these are cycled into budgets and Holt says that he will get him an answer after he looks into the units they were discussing. Jan wanted to know
if software came into that and Chairman Powell said they would put that on the agenda for the next meeting. Jan wanted to know whose responsibility was software, was it part of the package
with the purchase of radios or if it was up to each agency. Chairman Powell stated that it would be put on the agenda for the next meeting. Chairman Powell stated that they were exploring
leasing and wanted to hear from Andrew about this option. Motorola does their own in house leasing which is an option as well as the local banks. However you finance, the lease is a
lease purchase. Andrew or Mike can do a lease quote for any of the agencies that would like them. Ron Jordan was concerned if they did a lease purchase with Motorola and Wireless, if
equipment is shipped all at once on one pallet or in five different shipments. Andrew said that the shipping can be done however specified; one hundred percent all at once or fifty percent
at a time or ten percent at a time. This can be specified in your lease. Chairman Powell thanked Andrew for coming to this meeting New Business: Public Safety Communications Center:
Brenda Hewlett distributed the monthly agency reports to Committee members via email. Brenda gave an update on the happenings in the Center. Supervisors had some issues they wanted
put before the Board. o The police department is telling the Telecommunicators that they need to dispatch Landfall, Interpol or Mall security and we need something in writing. We don’t
dispatch for those agencies Tom Eason wanted to know who this was coming from; Brenda informed him that it was usually the sergeant on the street. WPD is still supposed to respond but
they are asking us to contact which we would need in writing.
o They are using highway 74/76, hwy 132, instead of using street names. Some of them are not valid street names, Kings Highway is referenced and we need to know this so that we can get
it on the map. o Unit recommend was mentioned and they said that volunteer fire departments don’t want to use this even. We strongly recommend that April 1, 2008 we have a trial run
to ensure that it will work. o Any time there is emergency traffic that is for special assignments so that we can be better prepared for staffing. An example is a shooting on S. Kerr
and there was a shooting and the Center had no idea. o EFD, if we use then Fire should use it. o Any changes required by any department we dispatch for, give us a chance to try it on
the training side before it is put on live, such as the district changes with the Police Department and the increase in traffic with the Sheriff’s Department. A meeting with us to inform
us and to see if we can or can’t complete the change. o 9-1-1 Legislation, we are waiting on the new list of expenditures that will be allowed. There may not be much change but training
added and allowance for our own IT person. o Debora and Brenda are going to Washington for 9-1-1 Goes to Washington on Sunday. This is a good way to promote 9-1-1 through legislation.
EMS requested that we do standbys to add to their firehouses, last year for a two month period they had 86 standbys and the same time frame for this year they had 3,158. Chairman
Powell said that is probably something that needed to be looked at with a sub committee with the Fire Department. Cliff said that he understood it was for use for the Telecommunicators
but it was to be clear text for the Fire Department. Chairman Powell inquired if there was anything to add. Chairman Powell adjourned at 11:32 A.M.