ORD-2011-013 Unified Development Ordinance and Repeal All Existing Ordinances See ON line Version

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~~-i3-~o i/ D,~,~ ~o~~ -oy~ ~e. e. Study/Assessment for Emerqencv Medical Services and E911 Communications Center and Aaproval of Budqet Amendment #5-B The Board considered a recommendation regarding the County's Emergency Medical Services System and E911 Communications Center by contracting with Solutions for the Local Government, Inc., for $26,400 to assist the department in developing a multiyear strategic plan addressing Emergency Medical Service System and E911 Communication Center needs; approving Budget Amendment #5-Bto appropriate $26, 400 of Emergency Telephone System Fund Balance for professional services to compete the proposed scope of services; and authorizing the Manager to sign the sign the contract with Solutions for Local Government, Inc. Michael Talbert said that when they met on November 17th there were discussions about the E911 system and the Emergency Medical system. The EMS system is averaging 14,000 calls annually. There are several phases and one of the goals is to decrease response times, enhance the first responders' safety, and ensure system backup. The County has asked a local company in Charlotte, North Carolina called Solutions for Government. Steve Allen is the President of this company. The work would involve two studies - one for Emergency Medical and one for the 911 Center. There would be a thorough evaluation of what currently exists. The total cost for both plans would be $26,400. PUBLIC COMMENT: Bill Waddell was speaking as a long time Paramedic that serves on the South Orange Rescue Squad and speaking for the rural fire departments. "We do not support a third consultant study and ask that you please not approve the project. "Please give the workgroup a chance to discuss the issues and agree on the improvements that are needed. We do not believe that we need the help of a consultant at this time. As you mentioned in November, we need real solutions now. "For starters, the workgroup can quickly figure out where to site an ambulance in the northern part of the county. There aren't that many options. In addition, given the contacts that the fire chiefs and SORS have with medical directors all over the state, we should quickly be able to get good benchmarks comparing Orange County to other emergency medical fleets in North Carolina. "We also believe that we need to take a hard look at the call center CAD system and radios to understand the impact of replacing them - sooner than 2013/14 as the county suggested and possibly as soon as next year. "Please let us work on all of this before you consider engaging a consultant. We'd like to invite you all to join us to visit the call center in Alamance County where they are handling double the call volume (360,000 calls per year) with the same size staff as Orange County. We suspect that their technology investment is contributing favorably to their low cost operation and average response time of 9 minutes. They replaced their CAD system in 2009. Compared to other counties, we expect to find that our call center problems and ambulance fleet problems are routine. Rather than pay a consultant, we'd prefer to work with our neighbors and learn from their experiences. IYs a win for everyone. "Please let us get to work and come back to you with recommendations that make sense and work for Orange County. Please don't ask us to wait for another consulting study. There is too much to do and there is much at stake. Thank you." Commissioner Jacobs asked to hear from Emergency Services Director Frank Montes de Oca about his opinion on Mr. Waddell's comments. Emergency Services Director Frank Montes de Oca said that the County does need to engage with its users - both the volunteer groups and the professional groups. There needs to