Agenda - 06-06-2017 - 8-a - Minutes

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27 1 Cliff Brown said yes. He said, on average, a brand new site for a tower is about $1.4 2 million, including equipment, prepping the land, etc. He said higher towers cost more money, 3 but there would be less land costs. 4 Commissioner Marcoplos said he lives 11 miles outside of Carrboro, and suggested 5 putting the tall towers in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, as the blinking lights would blend in with the 6 urban landscape; and put the unblinking lights in the rural areas. He said to use a hybrid 7 system of towers. 8 Cliff Brown said guidance from the County is welcomed. He said existing structures are 9 being considered as well, such as the University of North Carolina (UNC) and a building just 10 over the Durham County line. He said the 700-800 system, which is the long term solution for 11 the County, are also VHF sites, which would eliminate duplication. 12 Commissioner Jacobs said as far as siting taller towers, the County looked at bird 13 flyways in considering the location of higher towers, which kill birds. He said lower towers were 14 preferred for this reason, and Craig Benedict may have that information. He said the Audubon 15 Society may also be helpful. 16 Chair Dorosin asked if the County will have to pay fees to Durham if it uses a shared 17 system. 18 Cliff Brown said yes, and this cost is not factored into the cost estimates reviewed this 19 evening. He said the costs identified this evening are only capital costs. He said the fees 20 depend on how many users are in the system, but the initial quotes range from $50,000- 21 $100,000 annually. 22 Chair Dorosin asked if VIPER will let them use their towers. 23 Cliff Brown said it depends on who owns the tower, and some will allow use, and some 24 will not. 25 Chair Dorosin asked if the recommendation is to abandon VIPER. 26 Cliff Brown said yes, and the main reasons are: coverage, capacity, and reliability. 27 Chair Dorosin said asked if there is an option between the $2 million and the $30 million; 28 and it seems like that is the $26 million option. 29 Cliff Brown said this is recommended answer. He said the VHF solution would provide 30 County coverage, and consists of 10 sites and costs $10 million. He said this would be 31 conventional analogue, and VHF involves a lot of interference and skip. He said new 32 frequencies would be needed, which may be difficult due to how long VHF has been in use. He 33 said there are grants available, and usually require systems to be P25 and have interoperability. 34 He said these requirements promote counties coming together to create regional systems. 35 Chair Dorosin asked if there is a lot of grant funding available. 36 Cliff Brown said there are multiple grants per year, and the amounts vary greatly. 37 Chair Dorosin asked if other areas are leaving VIPER. 38 Cliff Brown said some are leaving, and some are joining the system. He said there are 39 a large variety of radio systems across the State. 40 Bonnie Hammersley said staff wanted the BOCC to have this report before discussing 41 capital prioritization next week. She said no action is required this evening. 42 Chair Dorosin said the proposed plan notes that the first four towers should be in the 43 southern end of the County. He said there seems to be good coverage in this part of the 44 County already, and asked if these towers should be put in more rural areas where coverage is 45 lacking. 46 Cliff Brown said that plan would move the higher quantity of users into a new system, 47 where they are not competing for fewer channels on the VIPER system. He said this would 48 offer the quickest relief to the problems with VIPER, to the largest number of users. He said 49 P25 is the industry standard and is connected to all funding streams, but VIPER is P25 and so