Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
constituents, the County Manager, the Emergency Coordination Center (ECC), and County <br /> staff(as needed), and 2) the capability to conduct public meetings, including public access, <br /> when the BOCC may not be able to gather in a single facility or under the same roof (due to <br /> any reason). <br /> With Category 1, the group felt that improving the BOCC's capability to use their personal <br /> devices (phones) and email would be the best option. By using their email addresses, OCES <br /> could push out Situation Reports on the Emergency or Disaster to keep them informed and <br /> able to answer questions by their constituents. OCES can also revise the elected official's <br /> disaster guideline to provide more detail on how and whom to communicate with during <br /> emergencies and disasters. To enable the BOCC to make calls, we propose that each <br /> Commissioner and County Manager's staff be registered with the Government Emergency <br /> Telecommunications Service (GETS), which provides a free priority mechanism to make <br /> landline calls. Basically this service routes calls by dialing dedicated telephone numbers <br /> followed by a pass code to process the call. <br /> We also propose that each Commissioner and County Manager's staff be registered with the <br /> Wireless Priority System (WPS), which is a fee based service (about $5 per device per month) <br /> that gives wireless phones priority access to cell towers. In addition, WPS and GETS can be <br /> used jointly if the need arises. <br /> Jim Groves handed out GETS cards to the Commissioners. He said this card can be <br /> used dialing a 710 area code before the number you are calling. He said you would then enter <br /> a pin that will increase your opportunity to get through when lines are congested. He said it <br /> will not help if infrastructure is damaged or down. He said the system will not knock off callers <br /> already on the phone, but it will place the call in a que with priority status. <br /> Jim Groves asked if the Commissioners want to pursue the Wireless Priority Service. <br /> Commissioner Price asked if the GETS card is active now and if it can go from cell <br /> phones to land lines. <br /> Jim Groves answered yes. He said a cell phone or land line can be used to go through <br /> the GETS line. He said if you use a mobile device, it has to hit the cell tower, and this may not <br /> be possible without the WPS. <br /> Commissioner porosin asked for clarification on scenarios where the Board would need <br /> this. He said he is not the person that needs to get through to coordinate rescue efforts during <br /> an emergency. <br /> Jim Groves said this is for use in the case of a major malfunction that affects a lot of <br /> residents in Orange County. He said in this case, he and the manager would be asking the <br /> Commissioners to interface with constituents to find out areas of unmet needs. He said this <br /> information will be useful in helping allocate resources. <br /> Jim Groves said the next piece to consider is a scenario where you are unable to meet <br /> in a public place to do County business. He said one option is to use a conference line that <br /> would even allow the public to dial in and listen. He said it would be possible to have access <br /> to about 50 lines, and this could be done using the existing County infrastructure or a third <br /> party vendor. He asked for input on how many lines would be needed for public access. <br /> Commissioner Rich asked if these lines would be needed so that it could still be <br /> considered an open meeting. She asked how the public would know the Board is meeting. <br /> Jim Groves said the Public Affairs Office would be responsible for pushing this <br /> information out to the public. <br /> Chair Jacobs said the bigger the crisis, the more people who will want to know what is <br /> going on. He said this makes it hard to determine how many lines would be needed. <br />