Minutes 02-11-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner McKee said there had also been discussion about co-locating for better internet connectivity. Jim Groves said it may not be worth the money to add the towers. Jim Groves reviewed the costs for renting a tower, and he said another option would be for the County to build a tower and rent it. Commissioner Rich asked how much it costs to build a tower. Jim Groves said it depends on the type of tower, but the amount would be between $350,000 and $750,000. He said the VIPER equipment would put it close to $1 million. Commissioner McKee there had been a mention of looking into the 700 mhz service. Jim Groves said there have been some good conversations with Durham and other partners about this, and the concern was to make sure there would be good interoperability. He said there has been agreement to allow this. He said the FCC has to provide frequencies for these tower sites. He said there are about 40 different frequencies, and it would be possible to build a simulcast system. He said this means that all of the towers could transmit at the same time, which would help improve coverage. He said only 20 of the 40 frequencies would be needed to make this work, which would mean 15 frequencies could potentially be dedicated to emergency services. He said 5 could be designated for non-public safety uses, such as schools and public transit, and these could be borrowed by emergency services if a need arises. He said, in theory, it seems like this would be a good system, and the County has a decision to make about what direction to go. He said this system could be built for about one-third of the cost. Chair Jacobs asked if staff will come back with a recommended proposal. Jim Groves said he will be happy to put this together. Chair Jacobs said it sounds like that the 700 mhz system would be preferred by most of the people working in emergency services. He said it would be nice to know what this would cost and to see it flushed out for further consideration. Jim Groves said this current study is just to show how coverage can be improved, but it has nothing to do with building a County system or a simulcast system. He said the point is that there is an existing coverage problem, and this plan will need to be implemented in some shape or form to improve that. Commissioner Price asked about the timeline. Chair Jacobs said this was supposed to come back in March for the 800 mhz. He said it would be up to staff to determine the timing. Jim Groves said it would take a couple of months for him to put a decent proposal together. Commissioner Pelissier referred to a previous discussion of the First Net system. She asked how this will fit in. Jim Groves said N.C. probably will not see this until 2016-17, and he said First Net is just a public safety broadband that is built in partnership with private communities. He said this is a little more of a robust system, but there will be a subscriber fee to use it. He said it will give private companies incentive to build a tower. He said the VIPER system is a good play on getting ahead of this curve by helping provide more control of the system. Commissioner Gordon asked for an explanation of what will come back in March. Jim Groves said the current CIP has staggered amounts of half a million dollars each. He said any changes, such as building our own towers, would require modification. Commissioner Gordon asked if the future proposal that will be flushed out will mean additions to the CIP. Jim Groves said yes. Commissioner Gordon asked if this is the only item that will be brought back. Jim Groves said the proposal will provide two different options, along with the associated costs and timing, and it will be the Board’s decision.