HomeMy WebLinkAboutE911Minutes_2011_01_20East Central Communications Council Meeting
City Hall Meeting Room
Thursday, January 20, 2011
8:30am
Board members present: All Gregg (County Commission), Jael Thorpe (City Council), Deanna Santema
(County Commission), and Jeff Weldon (City Manager).
Others present: Todd Struwe (Emergency Mgmt.), Jeff Miller (BPD), Mark Stratton (Communications),
Darrell Hartmann (Fire Dept), and Marty Stanwick (SO).
Members Absent:
Call to order: Meeting called to order by Al Gregg. Jael Thorpe/Jeff Weldon moved to approve the
minutes of the October 21, 2010 meeting. All present voted aye. Motion approved.
Addition to the Agenda: None
Bills: Jeff Miller reviewed the non-recurring bills. Weldon/Santema moved to approve the non-
recurring bills. All present voted a ye. Motion approved.
Old Business:
Gregg stated as he was Vice-Chair last year, he would move into the office of Chair this year; Santema
would be vice-chair this year and serve as Chair the following year, with Gregg serving as Vice-Chair
Everyone agreed.
Weldon asked for an update Duel County. Miller responded there is nothing new at this time.
Struwe asked if there are any updates on the E911 standards. Miller commented there are no updates ; the
2-person rule goes into effect July 1, 2013.
Hartman gave an update on narrow banding. He is working on a standardize d radio configuration for all the
county fire departments. Weldon asked what the process will be for switching dispatch over. Hartman
stated it involves reconfiguring from a laptop and everyone will switch over at the same time. The ability to
time all of this simultaneously is going to be almost impossible. Miller stated there is grant money available
for this upgrade. He has not received a quote for the cost of the hard station but there will be a $25 charge
for each portable radio. Hartman added the deadline for narrow banding is December 31, 2012. Weldon
commented waiting for Homeland Security grants might put us after the FCC deadline. Struwe said the
turnaround time is fairly quick. Hartman stated we are going to be purchasing narrow band pagers for the
county fire departments with 2010 Homeland security money. He has talked with the Brookings County
Fire Fighters Association and they haven’t budgeted anything.
New Business:
Weldon asked about planned capital purchases; nothing major at this time. Weldon asked if some money
has been put away for the Zetron computer system in about 4 years; yes, approximately $10,000.
Miller discussed a problem with the radio system and the repeater. They had to transmit on county law in
order to communicate. This is a grounding problem and are waiting on FAA approval to move of the
antenna and repeater out of this building. Hartman asked what location is being looked at. Miller stated the
22nd Avenue water tower, the application has been made. Miller will communicate with Jackie Lanning to
see if this can be expedited. Weldon asked if permission has been granted from BMU. There has not been
an official okay, and Miller will reconnect with Jim Adkins. Weldon clarified Melby would be in charge of the
water towers
Miller stated a Verizon representative was inquiring about putting up a new tower and leasing a spot; there
is not enough space where the current tower is. Miller stated we would eventually need the whole parking
lot. The Verizon representative suggested a 10 foot square pad in the parking lot with a cylinder type tower.
Weldon asked why here. Miller stated Verizon did a study and this spot would offer better coverage. He
expects to receive a proposal soon.
Member Reports
The next meeting is set for April 21, 2011 at 8:30am
Regular quarterly meetings are held in January, April, July, and October on the 3rd
Thursday of the month. Discussion of the budget is held in May.
Adjournment
Submitted by Chris Larson