Agenda - 05-02-2017 - 8-a - Minutes

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12 1 2 Commissioner McKee said he is happy to partner with Durham, but asked if any thought 3 had been given to whether the County will find itself in the same position with Durham County 4 as it is with the State VIPER system: being the junior member. 5 Dinah Jeffries, Emergency Management Services Director, said this does not have to be 6 a permanent partnership. She said this partnership is being initiated because the cost of the 7 core equipment is astronomical. She said Fayetteville is also on Durham's system, and she has 8 spoken with the staff there, who reports being very happy with the arrangement. 9 Commissioner McKee asked if this will give the County the capacity to handle not only 10 EMS, but the Sheriff and Fire Departments as well. 11 Sheriff Blackwood said if one considers the capacity needed to operate fire, emergency, 12 rescue, and police and quantifies this need as a 5; then this system is at a 50. He said it is the 13 most robust system he has seen. 14 Commissioner McKee said he is glad to hear this information, because there have been 15 ongoing issues with the VIPER system. 16 Sheriff Blackwood said the problems with the VIPER system are not unique to Orange 17 County. 18 Dinah Jeffries said the use of VIPER would not be eliminated, but would no longer be 19 the primary system. 20 Commissioner Rich asked if staff knows the number of towers that will be needed. 21 Travis Myren said there is a current estimate, but this will become more detailed in the 22 next phase. 23 Commissioner Rich asked if the towers can be used for anything else. 24 Travis Myren said yes. 25 Commissioner Rich asked Craig Benedict, Planning Director, if building towers will stir 26 up rural residents. 27 Craig Benedict said the Master Telecommunications Plan has some County owned sites 28 that are being evaluated or earmarked for these towers. He said there is also an annual 29 meeting with the private sector, and there may be rental opportunities available. 30 Commissioner Jacobs said the adopted plan seemed to minimize the impact to the 31 environment, but the BOCC should not belittle residents' concerns about cell towers. 32 Travis Myren resumed the presentation: 33 34 Capital Investment Plan 35 • EMS Substations - $845,000: Page 53 36 o Partnership with Orange Rural Fire Department and Hillsborough Police 37 Department 38 o Town owned land in Waterstone development 39 o Replaces EMS station at New Hope Fire Station #2 40 o Interlocal agreement underway for potential construction and maintenance 41 o Sprinkler systems for Revere Road and Eno stations 42 o Future location study based on call volume and response 43 44 Dinah Jeffries said she has talked to the Efland Fire Chief, and he is open to talking 45 about co-locations in the Buckhorn/Efland area. She said there are also discussions with 46 Caldwell and Cedar Grove about merging three departments in the northern corridor. 47 Commissioner Marcoplos asked if the colored zones and white spots on the map could 48 be explained. 49 Kevin Medlin, 911 Telecommunications, said these are based on response times from a 50 specific station, and the fingers are where the 12-minute response time runs out.