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Chief Allison said the volunteer departments would partner with the municipalities to <br /> flesh out some of these details. <br /> Chair McKee asked if there were any ideas regarding the financing of a joint facility. <br /> Chief Allison said it is hoped that the County could help with permitting and initial costs, <br /> and then all stakeholders would put in funds for the facility as well. <br /> Chief Brooks said an increase in the fire tax could be a possibility. <br /> Chief Cabe said charging user fees for outside entities could be implemented to recoup <br /> some of the cost. <br /> Commissioner Price asked if Orange County would be able to waive fees for permitting. <br /> John Roberts he would have to research that. <br /> Commissioner Price said waiving the fees could help reduce the costs for the fire <br /> departments. <br /> Chair McKee asked if the fire departments would keep the Board updated as the plans <br /> move forward for a joint training facility. <br /> Fred Stipe asked if there were any other counties that have a similar multi-agency <br /> training facility. <br /> Interim Chief Susanna Williams said New Hanover County and their local community <br /> college did a similar facility. <br /> Jim Groves suggested looking at Lee and Buncombe Counties as well. <br /> Commissioner Price said North Carolina Association of County Commissioners might <br /> have some information too. <br /> Chief Allison said a price cannot be put on safety, and it is imperative that volunteers are <br /> trained as well as possible. <br /> 3. Radio Upgrades <br /> Chief Allison said radio upgrades were discussed at their last meeting and will defer to <br /> Jim Groves and other Fire Chiefs. He said there are still some dead spots throughout the <br /> County. <br /> Jim Groves said there is some funding for towers, but in order to build a tower a radio <br /> study must first be conducted. He said a RFP will be written soon and a consultant hired to <br /> guide them through this assessment. He said there is a separate RFP for paging, and it has <br /> been put on the back burner for now so the focus can be placed on the radio coverage. <br /> 4. Status Updates <br /> a) Emergency Medical Services/9-1-1/County Strategic Plan Update <br /> The Allen Report, prepared by Solutions for Local Government and published in 2012, <br /> addressed improvements needed to the Orange County Emergency Medical Services and <br /> Communications Center Operations. This update will also address the County's Strategic Plan <br /> and the status for each of the 19 recommendations identified in the report. <br /> Jim Groves presented the following PowerPoint slides: <br /> Orange County Emergency Services Update <br /> October 1, 2015 <br /> Acronyms <br /> ALS—Advanced Life Support (Intermediate/ Paramedic) <br /> AVL—Automatic Vehicle Location <br /> BLS— Basic Life Support (Medical Responder/ EMT) <br /> CAD — Computer Aided Dispatch <br /> EMD — Emergency Medical Dispatch <br />