Public Safety Mobile Communications Steering Committee WYDOT Commissioner s Conference Room 5300 Bishop Boulevard Cheyenne, WY March 31, 2004

Transcription

1 Public Safety Mobile Communications Steering Committee WYDOT Commissioner s Conference Room 5300 Bishop Boulevard Cheyenne, WY March 31, 2004 Meeting Minutes MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: Co-Chairman Kelly Hamilton, Chairman SALECS Co-Chairman Robert Wyatt, Wyoming Telecommunications Council Dan Perko, Wyoming Associated Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Tim Hibbard, Wyoming Department of Transportation Mark Joiner, Bureau of Land Management Joe Evans, Executive Director, Wyoming County Commissioners Association Dave Johnson, Deputy Director, Wyoming Association of Municipalities Billy Janes, Chief, Torrington Police Department Dave Kinghorn, Natrona County Sheriff s Department MEMBERS NOT PRESENT: Jim Narva, Director, Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety Fran Cadez, Wyoming Department of Health OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE: Joe Moore, Director, Homeland Security Major Ken Galbraith, Homeland Security Brian Grimm, Homeland Security Earl Atwood, Executive Director, SALECS Patty Bauer, WYDOT/Vice-Chair SALECS Jerry Kennedy, Albany County Commissioner Stormy Burch, Crook County Commissioner Capt. Bill Morse, Wyoming Highway Patrol Peter Lanz, Hanna Marshal s Office Jane Carlson, Platte County EMA Paul Pollat, Crook County Ray Bergquist, Weston County Fire District Rich Hauber, Campbell County Fire Department CMSGT Steve Enyeart, FEWAFB, 90 th Communications Squadron Clayton Kilgore, K&K Communications/Paging Tim Aschauer, Bureau of Immigration Kent Drummond, A&I Delegate to the WyoLink Project Robert Wilson, WYDOT Telecommunications Program/PSMC Project Manager Larry Sheridan, WYDOT Telecommunications/APCO-AASHTO Frequency Coordinator Ron Kisicki, WYDOT Management Services 03/31/04 WyoLink Meeting Minutes - Page 1

2 Jerrene Braisted, WyoLink Grant Writer Jeff Schulz, Cheyenne Police Department Dale Pawling, Cheyenne Fire Department Bryon Hopper, Cheyenne Fire Department Mark Harshman, Casper Fire Department Duane Stolns, Rawlins Fire Department David Stoeger, Goshen County Fire Warden Stephen Skoranski, State Fire Marshal s Office Russ Christiansen, Wyoming Ambulance/Emergency Medical Association Lauri Wempen, Fremont County EMS Mike Schildt, Motorola Bill Fleming, Motorola Cari Southerland, Motorola John Mayes, Motorola Margaret Spearman, The Spearman Company Tim Gwin, EF Johnson Joel Sandahl, EF Johnson 1. WELCOME/INTRODUCTIONS: The meeting was called to order by Co-Chairman Hamilton at 9:07 a.m. Mr. Hamilton asked everyone present to introduce themselves and describe their involvement in the project. 2. OLD BUSINESS: Kelly Hamilton called for a motion to approve the January 21, 2004, Steering Committee minutes. Moved by Bob Wyatt and seconded by Billy Janes. APPROVED. 3. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS: Funding - Dave Johnson had a meeting with Homeland Security on March 16, He distributed a handout for discussion pertaining to activities of the Consortium. Director Moore said that as of March 29 th, the 2004 funds had arrived. He stated the funds continued support for first responders, law enforcement, and the counties and tribes. Funds were also directed to the fire service to support the regional team concept. A 44% portion is being dedicated to the WyoLink. A consortium is proposed to represent the interests of constituents in the counties and tribes for the expenditure of this WyoLink allocation of federal grant funds. 03/31/04 WyoLink Meeting Minutes - Page 2

3 Joe Evans said he had talked to most of the counties to make sure they understood the funds breakdown, with emphasis that this is a Homeland Security Project and there are restrictions on exactly how the funds can be spent. Tim Hibbard said that we can t forget the total project cost of $51M, which we want to fund with federal dollars as much as possible. Therefore, it is important to show the feds that we have statewide support for the project. Dave Johnson distributed a draft Statement of Understanding that summarizes the WyoLink initiative, allocated FY04 grant funds, and outlines the role of the consortium. He said that he assumed a formal action would be needed to establish the Consortium. Bob Wyatt said since the Steering Committee was not a formal entity with by-laws, it could change hats and carry forth the Consortium commitment with regard to the administration of the WyoLink funds. Therefore, it was his suggestion that the entire Steering Committee become the Consortium. After general discussion it was the feeling that the Steering Committee would evolve into the Consortium. Dave Johnson moved that the Public Safety Mobile Steering Committee become the Consortium to oversee the % Federal Homeland Security Grant Funds on behalf of WyoLink benefiting participating entities. Joe Evans seconded. APPROVED (NOTE: See Attachment A - Consortium Membership) Major Galbraith requested a copy of the motion, meeting minutes and a list of the people who would make up the Consortium membership. Rich Hopper, Campbell County Fire, asked who is the we who decided to take the county funds for this project. Dan Perko responded that no one has taken the funds. It is the State Office of Homeland Security s recommendation that a portion of the 80% county/tribal share of the funds be dedicated to the WyoLink project, however this can only happen with the approval of the identified recipients. Ron Kisiki reported that he had spoken with Representative Cubin s staff with a request for a legislative earmark of approximately $5M to be applied to the WyoLink project. WYDOT will also be submitting grant requests for a TOPS grand and a DOJ grant by the end of April. Kelly Hamilton asked Rob Wilson to elaborate on the federal grant applications. Mr. Wilson reminded the committee that any grant funds used to purchase WyoLink compatible radio equipment buys down the $51M price tag of the project. Dave Johnson said that the blue paper needs to be updated. Outreach Activities/Articles - Mark Joiner said there will be an article coming out in the next WAM newsletter. He will be speaking at the U.S. Forest Service Region 1 upcoming meeting. Montana is interested in participating in WyoLink. Kelly Hamilton said he d like something which could be handed out showing the WyoLink vision. 03/31/04 WyoLink Meeting Minutes - Page 3

4 4. PROJECT MANAGER S REPORT: Federal Engineering Final Documents - Robert Wilson distributed the Wyoming Public Safety Mobile Communications Plan, Phase 1 (Assessment) & 2 (Planning) to all the Steering Committee members. Mr. Wilson walked the committee through the most important pages within the two volume plan. Appendix A2 (Required Features) and Appendix S (System Requirements and Testing Specifications) contain information of particular interest to the vendors who will be responding to the forthcoming WyoLink RFP. Each plan contains a CD which contains all documents in PDF format. There will be seventy additional CD s coming from Federal Engineering sometime in April. Kent Drummond will have the plan posted on the WyoLink website as soon as possible. The plan binders are marked with the function/department representative of the membership positions of the newly formed Public Safety Communications Commission. Where those positions coincide with present Steering Committee members, they were given to those people. When the PSCC is formally convened, the binders will be passed on to the appropriate members of that body. Kent Drummond is administering custody of the plan binders. Frequency Acquisition - Larry Sheridan covered the following points pertaining to frequency acquisition for the WyoLink system: 1. He is in the negotiation phase for a frequency planning consultant contract; aiming for May 1 st. 2. Federal agencies are expressing interest in WyoLink. 3. Talk group design is in preliminary stages. He is working with participating agencies with respect to their anticipated needs. 4. With regard to mobile data terminal services, a meeting has been held with DCI and it looks very positive to have direct support from DCI for those entities who do not have their own CAD systems for access to NCIC, NLETS, and WCJIN. 5. VTAC (VHF Tactical) channels are identified for the VHF narrowband spectrum. There is no licensing required for mobiles and portables for these channels. As of January 1, 2005, any adjacent channels to the VTAC channels will have secondary authorization only. 6. The FCC has sent out notification of expiring licensing. There were three in Wyoming, and they have all been taken care of. WyoLink Timeline - Mr. Wilson gave the following proposed timeline for the WyoLink project: November 2004: contract award, March 2005: design approval, October 2005: initial operational capability of pilot phase, October 2006: commence core network phase implementation, : four expansion phases, to field necessary subscriber equipment and to cover difficult regions and late adopters. 03/31/04 WyoLink Meeting Minutes - Page 4

5 Federal Delegation Letter of Support - Mr. Wilson said he had been talking with members of Wyoming s Congressional staff s and they would consider writing a WyoLink letter of support if asked. Mr. Wilson will work with the funding subcommittee to put this request on a state letterhead, for signature by the chairman on behalf of the Steering Committee. Telecommunications Council Relations - Robert Wyatt reported that the Telecommunications Council is focused more toward broadband services and not on wireless communications. It is the Telecommunications Council s responsibility to inventory telecom capabilities/facilities throughout the state. The Telecom Council now has funding support and will be pursuing bringing broadband coverage to smaller communities. Subscriber Equipment - Kent Drummond reported that a prenegotiated pricing structure has been implemented which makes it possible for Wyoming entities to purchase WyoLink compliant radio equipment at, or below, established national contracts without having to go through the RFP process. Copies of the pricing structure have been distributed along with vendor equipment lists. The agreement and equipment lists can also be seen on the WyoLink website. 5. WYOLINK GOVERNANCE: Kelly Hamilton reported that Senate File 16 passed and the new Public Safety Communications Commission will become effective July 1, This replaces the existing SALECS Commission and raises the membership from seven to seventeen. He reviewed the proceedings of the SALECS Commission meeting of the previous day saying he felt very positive about the future of this commission. SALECS meeting minutes will be posted at Earl Atwood said application forms for membership on the commission can be obtained from the state website Mr. Atwood said he would like to have the members of the new commission identified by the first meeting which will be held in July, NEW BUSINESS: Paging - Dan Perko reported that in the original Federal Engineering survey, there was very little interest expressed in including paging as a WyoLink offering. However, since that time a survey has been distributed through the State Fire Marshal s office which indicates there may be as many as seven thousand (7000) pagers in use by public safety in the State of Wyoming. Most of these are used by city and rural fire fighters. There are no changes proposed to existing paging systems by the Public Safety Mobile Communications plan published by Federal Engineering. Everyone is aware of the narrowbanding mandate for broadband VHF systems, on which current paging systems operate. He identified three modes of pager 03/31/04 WyoLink Meeting Minutes - Page 5

6 operation: 1) Alert tone or vibration; 2) Alphanumeric message; 3) One-way voice. He outlined several options for WyoLink to provide paging functionality, with associated pros and cons. Tim Hibbard asked how many of the 7000 active pagers are provided by commercial services. The general response from attending fire representatives was that their paging systems were in-house. Commercial services tend to provide services for single pagers instead of broadcasting simultaneously to a group of pagers, however, Mr. Kilgore from K&K Communications noted that broadcast to group pagers could bev contracted at reasonable rates. Steve Skoransky from the Department of Health expressed a concern for the cost of replacing paging equipment because of the narrowbanding mandate. Robert Wilson stated that it would only cost $1.5M - $2M more to include Alert and Alphanumeric paging within the WyoLink plan. We ve already received basic recommendations from Motorola and EF Johnson. Perhaps it would be worth while to include paging in the RFP for purposes of more precise cost identification. It was also noted that interfacing a WyoLink talk group to be rebroadcast on a legacy conventional frequency would be a simple way to preserve voice paging for those agencies that wish to keep their old paging infrastructure. After considerable discussion on paging needs and possibilities it was moved by Dan Perko that he and Rich Hauber get together and discuss possibilities of including alert and alphanumeric paging within the WyoLink system. Seconded by Kelly Hamilton. APPROVED ICS Communications - Brian Grimm elaborated on the use and distribution of the TRP interoperability units. He plans to distribute a letter from the Office of Homeland Security outlining the concepts envisioned for a statewide ICS Communications Plan. This will be followed up by a survey requesting information pertaining to frequencies in operation and their application. This will include identifying make and model of radio equipment which is necessary to know for proper programming of the TRP-1000 units. From all this information, he will then create operations manuals for site setup procedures. 9. NEXT MEETING AND ADJOURNMENT: Next meeting of the steering committee is May 3, 2004, 9:00 a.m., in Cheyenne, WYDOT Auditorium. Billy Janes moved to adjourn. APPROVED. Meeting adjourned at 12:47 p.m. 03/31/04 WyoLink Meeting Minutes - Page 6

7 Appendix A - Consortium Membership Consortium Membership for the Purposes of Administration of FY2004 Homeland Security Grant Funds Kelly Hamilton, Chairman PSMC Steering Committee Livestock Board 2020 Carey Avenue (307) Fax: (307) khamil@state.wy.us Dan Perko, President WY Chapter APCO State Forestry Division 1100 West 22 nd Street (307) Fax: (307) dperko@state.wy.us Jim Narva, Director Dept. of Fire Prevention and Electrical Safety Herschler Bldg., 1 st Floor W. (307) Fax: (307) jnarva@state.wy.us Fran Cadez, Manager Office of Telehealth Hathaway Bldg., 1 st Floor 2300 Capitol Avenue (307) Fax: (307) fcadez@state.wy.us Joe Evans, Executive Director WY County Commissioners Association (WCCA) P.O. Box W. 24 th Street Cheyenne, WY (307) Fax: (307) jevans@wyo-wcca.org Dave Kinghorn, Under Sheriff Natrona County 201 N. David Casper, WY (307) Fax: (307) kinghord@natrona.net William Wagon Shoshone Business Council Shoshone Tribe P.O. Box 538 Ft. Washakie, WY (307) /4932 Fax: (307) wwagon@washakie.net Billy Janes, Chief Torrington Police Department SALECS Comm. Secretary 2042 East A Torrington, WY (307) Fax: (307) billy@communicomm.com Mark Joiner, Manager Bureau of Land Management Radio Systems 1335 Main Lander, WY (307) Fax: (307) Mark_Joiner@BLM.gov Tim Hibbard, Engineer WYDOT Technical Services 5300 Bishop Boulevard Cheyenne, WY (307) Fax: (307) Tim.Hibbard@dot.state.wy.us Dave Johnson, Deputy Director (WAM) WY Assoc. of Municipalities 200 E. 8 th Ave. P.O. Box 3110 Cheyenne, WY (307) Fax: (307) johnson@wyomuni.org Robert James Wyatt, J.D. Wyoming Telecommunications Council P.O. Box 846 Sheridan, WY (307) wk (307) Fax: (307) dibob@fiberpipe.net 03/31/04 WyoLink Meeting Minutes - Page 7