Agenda - 06-05-1995 - IX-B - Laserfiche WebLink

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' 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 5, 1995 SUBJECT: Orange County Radio Amateurs Funding Request ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT Emergency Management PUBLIC HEARING YES NO X -------------------------------- ------------------------------- ATTACHMENT(S) INFORMATION CONTACT Extract from Project Data Packet Nick Waters, ext 3030 (distributed at 5/16/95 BOC meeting) TELEPHONE NUMBER 4/12/95 Emerg Mgmt Director Memo Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Mebane 227-2031 Durham 688-7331 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: To consider a request for funding from Orange County Radio Amateurs, Inc. BACKGROUND: At the May 16, 1995 Board of Commissioners' meeting, John Hughes of Orange County Radio Amateurs asked the Board to consider providing $8,000 in funding to help complete plans to install new radio equipment on WUNC-TV' s new television tower. The project background is contained in a data packet that Mr. Hughes distributed to the Board at that meeting. Mr. Hughes indicated that needed project funding is about $8,000 short at this time. Funding totaling $19,500 has already been secured from the Town of Chapel Hill, UNC Hospitals, and from various other donors. In the past several years, Orange County Radio Amateurs have provided valuable assistance on several occasions to Orange County emergency personnel involved in managing emergencies. During the 1992 Hillsborough tornado, 1992 simultaneous fires in Chapel Hill at Food Lion and Intimate Bookstore, and 1993 Southern Bell telephone line outages in Chapel Hill, the Radio Amateurs provided additional communications capabilities which greatly enhanced the ability of field personnel to execute essential coordination. Additional detail about past cooperation between the Radio Amateurs and Orange County is included in the previously distributed attached staff memo. The long term benefit of the installation of equipment on the new WUNC-TV tower will be more reliable backup communications which in times of emergency can take some of the burden off of telecommunicators in the 911 Center by redirecting administrative and non-essential radio transmissions away from tactical radio channels. The Radio Amateurs receive support from Orange County Emergency Management, which hosts the Radio Amateurs monthly meetings at the County' s 911 Center on New Hope Church Road. The County has also installed an antenna at Emergency Management for the club' s use, and stores some of the club's equipment at the facility. It is staff's understanding that Orange County Radio Amateurs will actually retain ownership of any equipment mounted on the WUNC tower.