PRESENT: B. Blanchard, G. Totman, P. Penniman, R. Booth 

EXCUSED:      M. Robertson

STAFF: S. Whicher, County Administrator; L. Shurtleff, Director, Emergency Response; J. Wood, County Attorney; E. Marx, Planning Commissioner; M. Shakarjian, Capital Projects Coordinator; W. Skinner, Public Information Coordinator; U. Mukherjee, Administrative Services Coordinator

GUESTS: D. Kiefer, Board of Representatives 

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting opened at 11:32 a.m. 

ADDITIONS TO/DELETIONS FROM THE AGENDA

None 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 23, AUGUST 27 AND OCTOBER 1 MEETINGS

It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Mr. Totman, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the July 23, 2002, August 27, 2002 and October 1, 2002 minutes.

FINANCIAL UPDATE ON COMCAP PROJECTS

PSCS Voice and Data System: Ms. Shakarjian said $280,500 have been spent since 1998. This includes $35,000 on consulting with Dutch Hill, $70,000 for generator for Y2K, $12,000 for options for tower sites, $10,000 for reimbursement to Planning Department, $8,000 for move to the Green Street Dispatch Center and $133,000 for NYSTEC consulting, not including contract fees encumbered.

Mr. Penniman arrived at this point at 11:40 a.m.

911 Communication Center: Mr. Whicher said $271,300 have been spent including encumbrance with Egner Associates since 1999. This includes $65,000 for exploring sites other than the CFR Building. $2.8 million are now available. He said that the building inclusive of architectural design would cost around $2.4 million. After taking into account equipment and other costs, the net shortfall is estimated at $400,000. Ms. Blanchard mentioned that Mr. Lemaro has suggested certain changes such as inclusion of a gas generator and block construction for the garage, which would raise costs. Mr. Whicher will follow up with Mr. Lemaro on these changes and the cost implications. 
Paging system: Ms. Shakarjian said that $200,000 were initially budgeted and another $141,000 were  subsequently rolled over to this account. $19,500 have been spent so far including expenses for consulting with United Radio and with ACD for frequency search.  

PSCS RFP STATUS REPORT

Ms. Shakarjian referred to page 2 of her COMCAP Project Update distributed recently. She mentioned two important action items. The first was an in-depth review by NYSTEC of technical details outlined by             
Motorola relating to coverage, capacity and performance vis-à-vis our functional specifications. She said this review was expected to be completed by the end of October. The second was a detailed assessment by NYSTEC of the coverage and capacity of our current voice communication system for comparative purposes. It was decided to post Ms. Shakarjian’s update report on the web with some changes suggested by members.   

In reply to a question by Mr. Totman as to why the project was not moving faster, Ms. Shakarjian explained that we are taking the time to ensure that we do not make the mistakes some others have made while executing similar projects. She mentioned the provision of acceptance testing procedure as a key element in this regard. In reply to a question by Mr. Booth as to why the determination of potential coverage is theoretical, Mr. Whicher explained that while the level of coverage is determined theoretically based on various technical parameters, the actual propagation is altered by obstructions such as trees. For example, a coverage of 95% may be projected by a vendor system based on eight towers whereas ultimately additional towers may be required to achieve the same coverage in practice.

Mr. Marx arrived at this point at 12:25 p.m.

SWN UPDATE

Mr. Whicher spoke of the last meeting with SWN officials based on which a letter of intent by SWN to fully partner with Tompkins County on all aspects of the SWN project has been drafted and sent to SWN. Once such a letter of intent is released by SWN, the next step would be to draw up an agreement. He said that SWN has agreed that the County may go ahead with the project faster than them. The mode of financing by SWN would be determined later. Meanwhile, the Tall Structures list is being updated and a copy of the revised version will be sent to SWN. Ms. Blanchard suggested a meeting with Senator Seward to apprise him of the latest developments and Mr. Totman offered to set up the meeting.

COMMUNICATIONS CENTER UPDATE

Mr. Shurtleff spoke of meetings with Tony Egner and T. G. Miller. Egner Associates are working on the construction drawing and T. G. Miller will develop the drainage plan. The location of the new tower at the 911 Center has been provided to C & S for obtaining necessary FAA clearance. Equipment specifications have been given to Motorola and details are being worked out. Ms. Kiefer pointed out that details of the tower and how it collapses on itself need to be given to the Village of Lansing. 

PROCUREMENT OF EQUIPMENT FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS CENTER

Mr. Wood spoke of the need to tie in the communications system and the 911 Center initially through a temporary microwave link. To achieve this, consoles (electronic equipment for the transmitter system) have to be installed and made operational. Motorola has offered to supply and set up the consoles and link them up with the existing system. Transfer to the new system will take place subsequently. 

Mr. Wood proceeded to explain the terms of the Motorola offer. They have offered to provide the linkage free of charge on the basis of a contract with the County (Phase I of the contract). The next phase of the contract would be the major contract for the entire communications system. Commitment to Phase I will not entail commitment to Motorola for the major contract. However, in case they are not awarded the major contract, they would charge for the linkage. They have also offered a discount of $1.5 million if the County agrees to an accelerated timeline for Phase I.  

The group briefly discussed the merits of the Motorola offer. Compatibility of the consoles could be a problem if the County decides to award the major contract to another vendor in line with SWN, but we would not know of the vendor/technology chosen by SWN until next summer. At the same time, the 911 building would be ready in a year and adequate lead time must be allowed for planning and execution of this part of the project, which is critical to the operation of the 911 Center. Mr. Wood stated that the consoles are estimated to cost $477,000 and the linkage another $200,000. Ms. Blanchard suggested that Motorola should confirm the cost of linkage as part of any agreement. She remarked that the County could face a serious problem if SWN opts for a different vendor with a non-Motorola type of operation. On the other hand, as Mr. Whicher pointed out, Motorola can handle our legacy system. Mr. Penniman asked if we would be tied in with Motorola for the entire project if we were to enter into the Phase I contract with them. Mr. Wood will consult NYSTEC in this regard. The group agreed to the idea of a phased contract with Motorola and asked Mr. Wood to prepare and present the draft Phase I contract to the COMCAP committee.           

DOT RELOCATION PROJECT   

Mr. Marx said staff evaluation has been done by the Village and Town of Dryden for the proposed sites and the evaluation reports were subsequently reviewed by DOT. The next step is to schedule public meetings in November with the Town and the Village in respect of the two sites. He hoped the Town Board would accept one of the sites. Ms. Blanchard remarked that the last meeting with the Town of Dryden was very congenial. 

NEXT MEETING

It was decided that the next COMCAP meeting would be held on November 19 (in place of November 26) at 11:30 a.m. in the Scott Heyman Conference Room.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 1:11 p.m.
 
 

Submitted by Ujjal Mukherjee, Administrative Services Coordinator