PRESENT: B. Blanchard, G. Totman, M. Lane, J. Lalley, T. Joseph, P. Penniman

STAFF: L. Shurtleff,  J. Miller , Fire, Disaster and EMS; J. Wood, Deputy County Attorney;  J. Hanson, Planning Commissioner;  W. Skinner, Public Information;  S. Whicher, County Administrator;  M. Shakarjian, J. Miller, Planning Department;  P. Meskill, Sheriff;  U. Mukherjee, Criminal Justice; J. Boodley, Engineering Division 

GUESTS: B. Wilbur, City of Ithaca Fire Chief;  L. Withiam, L. Gifford, E911 Operations Committee;  K. Lansing, Village of Cayuga Heights Police Chief; D. Kiefer, Scott Leonard, Salvatore DiRaimo, NYSTEC, S. Brock, Environmental Management Council; J. Skaley, Citizen – Town of Dryden, R. Seeley, Citizen – Town of Dryden

CALL TO ORDER

 Chair Blanchard called the meeting to order at 12:03 p.m.

ADDITIONS/DELETIONS TO AGENDA

 There were no additions/deletions to the agenda.

 Ms. Blanchard welcomed Steve Whicher, County Administrator.  Mr. Whicher recently took office and will be attending the meeting to learn more about the projects.  She said that a meeting will be held with senior staff shortly to review committee assignments.  Ms. Blanchard also welcomed Ujjal Mukherjee who will be taking over as minute taker for the Committee.

 Ms. Blanchard spoke briefly about the medical leave Mr. Benjamin is taking.  She said Mr. Benjamin has been instrumental in pulling all of the various pieces of the project together and she wished him a speedy recovery.  She thanked other members of senior staff who have taken over to fill in during Mr. Benjamin's absence.  She said a decision will need to be made about who should take over Mr. Benjamin's role on the State's committee.  She also said a decision will not be made at today's meeting on the site for the centralized dispatch center.   A special meeting will be held February 6, 2001, at Noon in the Scott Heyman Conference Room to discuss this topic.

APPROVAL OF PAST MEETING MINUTES

 It was Moved by Mr. Totman, seconded by Mr. Joseph and unanimously adopted by voice vote to approve the October 10, October 24, and November 8, 2000, minutes with the recommended changes. 

REPORTS AND UPDATES

E911

 Mr. Withiam stated the transition of dispatchers was completed on January 11, 2001, and is going as smooth as possible at this time.

CONSOLIDATED DISPATCH CENTER SITE SELECTION

 Ms. Boodley said four sites will be brought forward for consideration:  expansion at the Public Safety Building, expansion at the Crash, Fire, Rescue building, South Hill Fire Station #5, and space in conjunction with the Ithaca College Campus Safety facility.  She said that Mr. Egner has been completing work on Fire Station #5 and the numbers will be added to the spreadsheet.  Work will also continue on the campus safety facility.    She said Mr. Wilbur has been working on programmatic advantages and disadvantages.  Mr. Wilbur distributed the evaluation of potential sites.  He said that the Hanshaw Road site has been removed and the campus safety facility has been added.    Ms. Blanchard stated that this material will be discussed at the meeting on February 6, 2001.

 Mr. Wilbur said he has been working on an assessment of the operating requirements of the dispatch center and he will provide this information to the committee prior to the February 6th meeting. 

Mr. DiRaimo stated that the criteria used for the site evaluation is very good and recommended a microwave shot analysis also be completed for each site.

Mr. Penniman arrived at 12:20 p.m.

DOT PROJECT

 Mr. Hanson said the County Attorney has submitted an option letter to Cornell Real Estate.  Mr. Wood said that a response has been received and Cornell has indicated there should not be a problem with the option and it is in their attorney's office at this time.  He said he should have a response later this week.

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATION PROJECT

 Mr. DiRaimo and Mr. Leonard from NYSTEC gave a PowerPoint presentation on Tasks 1-3.  A copy of the presentation is on file in the Board office.

Mr. Lane asked about trunking capabilities and the lack of spectrum; what kind does the County currently have and what is needed.   Mr. DiRaimo said that there is trunking equipment that will operate in VHF and UHF, but manufacturers are aiming the technology primarily at the military.  He said the County does not have enough spectrum to trunk in VHF.  The County needs to have both send and receive capabilities and there isn't enough spectrum in the County to do this and there are no frequencies to build on in the County.  This is consistent with the entire United States.

 Mr. Lalley spoke about the goal of 95 percent out-of-building coverage and asked if a recommendation is being made that 95 percent coverage isn't necessary if tactical coverage is available.  Mr. DiRaimo said yes; he stated that it is possible to provision for handheld portable coverage. 

 Mr. Lalley stated that in the Dutch Hill study consideration wasn't given to what in-building construction would be and given the proliferation of heavy steel masonry construction in the various institutions he asked if this would create a challenge with the 800 MHz system.  Mr. DiRaimo said yes; he stated that chances are good that consideration would be given to a simulcast system for in-building coverage.  This can help with in-building penetration.  He stated that in-building penetration is a tough situation and it is best to identify needs and then specify additional general loss value.  He said the vendor should be asked to design to specific buildings to an extent and then see what the vendors suggest for the remaining areas.  He noted that each building could be configured separately.

Mr. Meskill asked about mobile backpack radios that could be used within the County.  He said he is concerned about a recommendation where major infrastructure and population within the County aren't covered given the County's geography.  He said that the majority of the population in need of communications are in critical need and need help immediately. 

Mr. DiRaimo said the best thing to do is to have the vendors do the system engineering.  He said that not all areas within the County can be covered with hilltop siting.  In the South portion of the County there is fairly aggressive terrain where vehicles cannot get in.  He said there should be the expectation that there will be situations that will not be accessible and the tools to make them accessible should be thought of up front.

Ms. Blanchard asked if the RFP can be developed to allow vendors to respond to different costs.  Mr. DiRaimo emphasized that minimum constraint and maximum creativity should be sought. 

Mr. Joseph commented on the substantial effort and investment from the vendors in preparing a RFP that is being done as a back up to the State's system.  Mr. DiRaimo stated that he anticipates that vendors will want to participate in the statewide project.  Mr. Leonard stated that the vendors will not know what the state is planning for a system at the time they are submitting their proposals, but they will know that Tompkins County is moving forward and this is an advantage because they will want to put together a good proposal in the event that the State's project is slow to move forward.

Mr. Joseph stated that it is very important to coordinate with the State and asked how this task should be handled.  He said that Mr. Benjamin handled this before he went on leave because the County has said that we are interested in being part of their project.  Mr. DiRaimo stated that Ms. Shakarjian has been participating in meetings at the State level and this reminds the State that Tompkins County is serious about moving forward.  He said that ongoing contact with the State is key to finding out about their progress. 

Mr. Whicher asked why a 800 MHz system is being recommended when the State is considering a 700  MHz system.  He also asked what the complications may be between the two systems. Mr. Leonard stated that 700 MHz spectrum isn't available at this time and won't be for about three years.  The County has the spectrum needed to support an 800 MHz system. He said that equipment can be produced to handle both frequencies. 

Ms. Brock asked about the State's announcement that will be made in February and if there is any information available on what that announcement might be and whether the announcement will allow the County to make a decision about whether to build.    Mr. Leonard stated that the announcement will be about how the State intends to proceed and how procurement will be done.  He stated that it is possible that a timeline won't be given and unless having the knowledge that the State is moving forward is enough he does not believe the announcement will provide enough information for the County to make a decision 

 Mr. Meskill asked for an explanation about the urgency to set spectrum aside.  Mr. DiRaimo stated that under certain FCC rules that have not been deployed yet, it requires that frequencies be on the air within three years and if this isn't possible a waiver needs to be applied for.  Mr. Miller stated that five of County's licenses will reach three years in April 2001 and the remaining five will reach three years in September 2001. 

 Mr. Joseph stated that Mr. Benjamin had spoken with the FCC and reported back that we have to use the spectrum within five years, but it won't be taken away if we are working toward building a system.  Mr. DiRaimo stated that if good faith effort is shown that the project is near completion the FCC won't take the licenses back.  He also noted that if the building time period cannot be met a waiver can be sought.  He noted however, that other communities can challenge the  waiver. 

Ms. Blanchard asked if a status report should be provided to the FCC.  Mr. DiRaimo said that a waiver should be sought to inform the FCC of progress and demonstrate a good faith effort. He noted more information should be available in a few weeks as to whether the County meets the good faith effort requirement.  Mr. Leonard stated that preparation of the RFP will help toward the good faith effort.

Mr. Wilbur said that the Committee has been told that using 700 MHz spectrum would be difficult due to Canadian broadcasting.  He asked if the statewide system cannot use 700 MHz spectrum in this area if they will be pursuing the County's 800 MHz spectrum.

Mr. DiRaimo stated Industry Canada (Canada's FCC) can have a digital television reallocation plan that would have zero interference.  He said he believes the 700 MHz issue will be resolved in time.  He stated the State also has 800 MHz spectrum available that they can use to get state agencies on the air and because the equipment can be used for both bands it will still be useable when the 700 MHz spectrum becomes available. 

 Mr. Wilbur asked if there is a conflict of interest for NYSTEC to be doing work for the County and the State.  Mr. Leonard stated that there isn't  a conflict.  Both parties will be getting truthful information.  The State is looking for spectrum and the County has spectrum available and the State is one of many users that will be looking at spectrum.    He stated the County may be able to use its spectrum as leverage with the State.

RESOLUTION NO.     - AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR TO ALLOW NEW YORK STATE TECHNOLOGY ENTERPRISES, INC (NYSTEC) TO PROCEED WITH TASKS 4 AND 5

 It was Moved by Mr. Totman, seconded by Mr. Lalley and unanimously adopted by voice vote.

 WHEREAS, the County entered into an Agreement for consulting services with New York State Technology Enterprises, Inc. ("NYSTEC"), and
 WHEREAS, the project has been divided into five distinct tasks, and
 WHEREAS, NYSTEC has been authorized to perform Tasks One through Three, and has performed work on those tasks, now therefore be it
 RESOLVED, on recommendation of Communications Capital Project Committee, That the County Administrator is directed to authorize NYSTEC to proceed with Tasks Four and Five at such time that he determines that Tasks One, Two, and Three have been satisfactorily completed. 
SEQR ACTION:  TYPE 

ADJOURNMENT

 The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.  A special meeting will be held February 6, 2001, at Noon in the Scott Heyman Conference Room.