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Schuylkill County public safety advisory committee meets [Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa. :: ](Republican & Herald (Pottsville, PA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 27--The Schuylkill County public safety advisory committee held its first meeting Tuesday evening in the commissioners' Hoffman room at the county courthouse. Consisting of about a dozen members from local police, fire and emergency medical service departments, the board formed to discuss and solve issues as the county communications system is being upgraded to meet federal mandates. "The one thing I want to emphasize the most is that we are all in this together," commissioners Chairman Frank J. Staudenmeier said. "That's why we formulated this board: to work together and try to respond to all questions and concerns. I think as we move forward, we can do that and the right way." Craig S. Breneiser, senior consultant with Essential Management Solutions LLC, Pottsville, gave a presentation on the new system Tuesday. Essential Management Solutions was hired as consulting engineer on the project. Currently, most radio systems operate on wide-band channels of 25 KHz. The Federal Communications Commission narrowbanding mandate will split the bandwidth channels in half to double the number of frequencies available. By reducing channel width, it will allow additional channels to exist within the same spectrum. Any equipment not capable of operating on channels of 12.5 KHz or less will no longer be operational. Counties had to be in compliance with the federal mandates by Jan. 1, 2013. However, Schuylkill County was granted a waiver extending the deadline to Oct. 31. Work has already started to bring the old systems into narrowband compliance and the radio quality will continue to decline until the process is completed by mid-September, Brenesier said. "We actually put this off into the 11th hour because of costs associated with doing this," Staudenmeier said. County officials met with Motorola, Harris and Raytheon on the outset of the project, but ultimately decided on a contract with Motorola Solutions Inc. for $16 million. That contract was funded through a $21 million bond issued by the commissioners in October 2012. Commissioner George F. Halcovage said the mandate was something the board had to address as soon as they came into office. "We were given proposals of putting a band-aid on the problem or getting it done the right way," Halcovage said. "The band-aid was a lot less expensive, but you are eventually going to have to replace the band-aid anyway. That's the reason we went the route that we did." Commission Gary J. Hess said a major change like this has to be disseminated through all affected departments. "That's why I think this committee is important," Hess said. "To see what's here, what will work, and what is the best interest of the parties using the system." Breneiser said Motorola was selected since it could be purchased under state contract guidelines and because the county was already using Motorola equipment. The company also offered to upgrade the system to include trunking capabilities at no additional cost. A trunked radio system can allows for sharing of a small pool of radio frequency channels among many users. Work started on the new system in January. Police departments are already using the digital system while EMS departments are in the process of making the switch. Fire departments did not fall under the mandate as they use low-frequencies and can make the transition at their discretion as long as low-band equipment is supported by manufacturers. Existing frequencies will be reallocated for fire use. Breneiser said about 300 radios have been bought so far and about 90 percent of the police forces in the county are using them. The digital system uses multiple sites and simulcast, improving will signal strength and quality. It also allows signals to be encrypted, improving security. The software features over-the-air programming, allowing devices to be upgraded from one central location like how cellphones are upgraded by service providers. OTAP capabilities will reduce the time it takes to update 1,000 radios from 105 hours to 12 hours, Breneiser said. Any equipment manufacturer other than Motorola that includes OTAP and meets all other technical requirements will be considered only after the devices are tested for compatibility by the county. As of Wednesday, no other companies have submitted equipment or been approved by the county for use, Breneiser said. "We understand the sensitivity to the costs associated with this," Staudenmeier said. A date has not yet been set for the next meeting. All meetings will be open to the public. ___ (c)2014 the Republican & Herald (Pottsville, Pa.) Visit the Republican & Herald (Pottsville, Pa.) at republicanherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |