Minutes Archive

Emergency Telephone District Board Meeting Minutes

November 20, 2007

Present:	Chairman Allen L. Byam, Greg Purcell, Ken Tsuchiyama, Tom Hardy, Bret Pherson, Eric Miller

Excused:	Vice-chairman Michael Olson

Also Present:	Jill Fish, Jim Zoss, Larry Utterback, Frank Post

Call To Order/Recognition of Quorum:
Chairman Allen Byam called the Meeting to order at 8:30 a.m., noting a quorum was in attendance and thanked the members for their attendance.

Agenda Review/Member Additions:
Chairman Byam asked to have CodeRED added to the Agenda.

Minutes Review and Approval:
The minutes of the Regular Meeting of August 21,2007, Special Meeting September 4,2007 and the Regular Meeting of September 18,2007 were all approved on a Motion by Mr. Tsuchiyama and supported by Chief Miller. Voice Vote - Motion Carried - Minutes were approved as written.

Financial Reports (August, September and October):
Mr. Purcell advised the Financials reflect payments mailed to the PSAP's and should there be any discrepancies noted please let him know.

911 Funding Update:
Mr. Purcell reported on the status of the E 91 1 funding as ongoing and still awaiting action by the Legislature. The Michigan Association of Counties continues to support Bills 41 0 and 41 1 with the dollars coming to the counties and not the State of Michigan. It appears this issue continues to be a part of the current budget discussions and to date nothing has been resolved. Rumors continue to abound and the likely resolution will result in a band-aid approach whereby the current provision will be extended for another year. Counties and PSAPs continue to remain in a "holding pattern" pending action by the legislature. It has been reported it is probable that the House will mix some of the items contained in HB 4852 into SB 410 and 41 1. MAC does not want Senate Bills 410 and 41 1 "thrown in" with HB 4852 (a House Bill which establishes a surcharge on phone lines to pay for a myriad of public safety items, not including 91 1). MAC has been opposed to subbing the three bills together from the onset.

VHF Frequency Allocation Discussion
Emmett Township Public Safety Director Frank Post had earlier this year requested dialogue be undertaken with regard to the reallocation of unused VHF Frequencies and consideration be given to reallocating them to the Fire Service.

With law enforcement abandonment of some of the VHF Frequencies and the unlikelihood of any near term interoperability solutions for the fire service, he has requested conversation begin as to the possibility of these frequencies being reassigned to the fire ground communications.

Chairman Byam indicated that the Sheriff Department has several frequencies licensed to them and for those not in use, he would have no problem allocating those. There was much discussion as to "who has what" prompting Chairman Byam to suggest the Fire Chiefs Council look into the matter and establish a model policy for everyone.

It was noted that the Fire Chiefs Council has approved the concept of reallocating the frequencies. Chairman Byam suggested that a sub-committee be formed to provide a listing of all of the frequencies and determining which ones are in use and which are not as well as the development of a model policy together with appropriate recommendations and bring those back to this committee. It will be necessary to have each and every frequency identified and verified, Chairman Byam recommended Larry Utterback and Greg Ham be involved with this project.

Jill Fish commented that Director Post's recommendation that the designator for fire ground frequencies be a color system was an excellent idea.

CodeRED Discussion:
Larry Utterback advised the Committee that he has been meeting with liaisons within the County regarding CodeRED and has provided a handout containing several follow up Questions and Answers regarding CodeRED .

CodeRED is a new service by which Calhoun County officials can notify county residents by telephone about emergency situations or critical community alerts. The system is capable of sending messages only to people affected by a particular situation or, in the case of a widespread emergency like a weather-related disaster, to the entire population of Calhoun County.

Mr. Utterback advised they are in the process of getting policies from different agencies. Also, in the information were samples of forms to be provided in connection with the service. He indicated that the cost of the service for the first year is $37,500 and that would be covered by the Regional Homeland Security Grant from Region V.

Mr. Utterback indicated it is necessary to get approval from the Emergency Telephone District Board in order to take the proposed plan to the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners. Their Sub- committee will be ready to provide a recommendation after their next meeting. Both to this Board as well as the Board of Commissioners.

The question of who will be responsible for the cost of the system after the first year, (to be paid for by the Homeland Security Grant in the amount of $37,500) was raised again.. The recurring cost factor continues to be an issue with funds being so tight countywide. As to who will be paying the cost after the first year if the grant does not cover them it is an unknown who and or how these would be paid.

Chairman Byam indicated the Sub-committee needs to come back to this Committee with a "finalized plan" and at that point in time, this Board would made the decision as to whether or not to submit a proposal to the Board of Commissioners for approval to move ahead.

Member Comments:
None

Public Comments:
None

Next Meeting

December 18,2007

Adjournment:
There being no further business to discuss at this time, the meeting was recessed to the Call of the Chair, the time being 9:45 a.m.

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Marshall, MI 49068
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