NS - Grant - Ratification of Application for Interoperable Communications Technology Grant

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See the attached budget spreadsheet for details on the project budgeting including Federal and non-federal shares. The total project cost is $ 3,998,730.00, of which $2,999,047.50 is federal, and $999,682.50 is local funding. Orange County public safety agencies are committed to implementing the VIPER project in the county and in support of this proposal have designated $474,000 of the county's homeland security grant funding to purchase 148 VIPER compatible portable radios. Within this current COPS grant request, Orange County is also asking for additional portable radios to equip additional public safety agencies in the county. All the radios that are to be purchased are APCO P-25 Compliant, 700 and 800 MHz compatible, are upgradeable to utilize digital communications. The prices in the budget section of this grant application are reflective of radios meeting these specifications. Both Durham and Orange Counties are individually committed to provide the local matching fiznds as set forth in the attached budget. Letters of support from the two counties indicating this commitment are attached. Future funding for operation and maintenance of the equipment acquired with this grant will be provided within the scope of normal operational budgeting. D. Evaluation Plan/Effectiveness of Program An Evaluation Plan will be implemented to determine the effectiveness of the program The Evaluation Plan will include monthly meetings of program coordinators to review performance measures. This review will determine adherence to project milestone timetables. The Evaluation Plan will also call for collection of statements of effectiveness from users, to include the various dispatch centers and public safety users. This collection of statements will be in the form of questionnaires and comments. We will seek information indicating improvements in interoperability, citing specific examples. Also sought will be criticism that might lead to further improvement toward the overall goals of the project.