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ORD- 2014 -03 7 <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: October 7, 2014 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. 6 -i <br />SUBJECT: VIPER Radio System Capital Project Revision <br />DEPARTMENT: Emergency Services PUBLIC HEARING: (Y /N) I No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Current VIPER Radio System Capital Jim Groves, 245 -6140 <br />Project Clarence Grier, 245 -2453 <br />Revised Orange County Radio /Paging <br />Systems Upgrade Capital Project <br />PURPOSE: To approve a revision to the existing Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency <br />Responders (VIPER) Radio System Capital Project, as included in the FY 2014 -19 Capital <br />Investment Plan (CIP), by changing the Project Name and Project Description. <br />BACKGROUND: All emergency service agencies within Orange County use the State of North <br />Carolina Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency Responders (VIPER) Radio System for <br />emergency communications. The system's functionality within Orange County has been less <br />than desirable. It does not meet the current or future operational needs. The original intent of <br />the VIPER Radio System Capital Project was to add more channels to several towers in and <br />around Orange County to help improve the VIPER system's capacity to handle radio traffic. It <br />also funded three (3) additional towers through year 10 on which to locate new infrastructure to <br />help improve the coverage and building penetration throughout the County. <br />A recent Tower Study was presented to the BOCC on February 11, 2014. The Tower Study <br />concluded that more than three (3) towers are needed to provide adequate coverage and <br />building penetration to keep responders safe and operations efficient. The study also showed <br />that paging (alert and notification) capabilities must be enhanced so that career and volunteer <br />fire, rescue, and EMS emergency responders can be notified of a call. The current VIPER <br />Radio Capital Project does not address this paging issue. <br />As the emergency response agencies in Orange County have expressed their disappointment <br />with the VIPER system, along with their desire to move away from the VIPER system, staff <br />believes it does not make fiscal sense to spend funds on a system that does not meet the <br />operational needs. <br />