Five Lorain County FDs plan to reapply for grant

[ThePolishDude]

There are two sites in Lorain Co. One is next to the Grafton correctional facility, and the other is on the tower at the county 911 center next to LCCC.
There is also a site just over the border in Brunswick that covers some of the southern part of the county, and one in New London that covers other parts of the south end.

Isn't the onein Brunswick a part of the Cuyahoga County simulcast system?

 

[ThePolishDude]

Funny there are times when I pick up the Cuyahoga County Westshore agencies of the Grafton Tower even though I am sometimes near the border of Cuyahoga/Lorain.

 

[wd8chl]

Funny there are times when I pick up the Cuyahoga County Westshore agencies of the Grafton Tower even though I am sometimes near the border of Cuyahoga/Lorain.

Yes. They do roam over there often. And as to the Brunswick site, honestly I don't know if it's part of the Cuy. simulcast or not right off the top of my head. But radios from Lorain Co. do roam there from time to time.

 

[Jphila20]

The one you mentioned in Brunswick is actually in Strongsville and is part of the Cuyahoga system. There is also a site at 480 & Stearns which reaches into Elyria. I work off the Justice Center site and it gives me all of Cuyahoga and most of Lorain. I believe the far west side of Lorain works off the site in Berlin Hts. Seems like they would just need to add a site in the Amherst or Oberlin area to fill in. The Cuyahoga site is usually really busy.

 

[wd8chl]

The one you mentioned in Brunswick is actually in Strongsville and is part of the Cuyahoga system. There is also a site at 480 & Stearns which reaches into Elyria. I work off the Justice Center site and it gives me all of Cuyahoga and most of Lorain. I believe the far west side of Lorain works off the site in Berlin Hts. Seems like they would just need to add a site in the Amherst or Oberlin area to fill in. The Cuyahoga site is usually really busy.

No. There is a MARCS site in Brunswick on SR 42 just south of Magnolia Dr. I've been there. You're confusing it with the towers on Boston Rd. to the north of there. The GCRCN is there.
The 480 and stearns site is a low profile "fill" site that doesn't really even make it much beyond the county line. Trust me on this. Same with the fill site on I-90 at Columbia. Bay Village PD has had trouble getting back to that site with portables.

 

[RT48]

Article says that once Lorain County dispatch consoles get software upgrades Elyria Fire will finally transition to the L3 Harris system.

Dispatch upgrades for Elyria Fire on hold for software upgrades

While an agreement between Elyria and the county was reached earlier this week, software upgrades are still needed on 15 dispatch consoles to accommodate EFD's new system, Armbruster said Friday evening, following an update given to the County Commissioners earlier that day.

chroniclet.com

 

[wd8chl]

Article says that once Lorain County dispatch consoles get software upgrades Elyria Fire will finally transition to the L3 Harris system.

Dispatch upgrades for Elyria Fire on hold for software upgrades

While an agreement between Elyria and the county was reached earlier this week, software upgrades are still needed on 15 dispatch consoles to accommodate EFD's new system, Armbruster said Friday evening, following an update given to the County Commissioners earlier that day.

chroniclet.com

Now it makes some sense. I'd bet the consoles couldn't talk to the Harris radios, and needed a license upgrade. Since they didn't have them before, there was no need to get it...I'm guessing...

 

[rcid1971]

Commissioners' attorney disputes sheriff's claims over 911 dispatch control

An attorney for the Lorain County Board of Commissioners has responded to county Sheriff Phil Stammitti's newest claims that he has final authority over 911 dispatch services in the county.

The letter, dated Friday and provided to The Chronicle-Telegram the same day, came in response to a legal argument Stammitti made at Tuesday's board meeting.

Stammitti's letter, which he gave the board on Tuesday, was the latest disagreement between the parties in more than a year over emergency radio communications in the county.

On Friday, attorney Matt Dooley of the law firm of Dooley Gembala McLaughlin Pecora wrote a response to Stammitti at the board's request, according to an email sent to The Chronicle-Telegram.

"Simply put, the board has operated the (911) system since August of 2011 with your express written consent," Dooley wrote, calling attention to an agreement signed by the board and Stammitti in 2011.

Despite Stammitti's argument that the agreement doesn't give the board operational control over Lorain County 911, "your actions since that time demonstrate otherwise," Dooley wrote.

"Indeed, for almost 13 years, you and the board have operated consistent with the (agreement) and the notion that all operational responsibilities were controlled exclusively by the board," he wrote the sheriff.

The board already was operating the county dispatch center when the agreement was signed "and thus your separate sheriff dispatch system was in many ways inefficient and more properly integrated with the existing county system," Dooley wrote.

Dooley's firm has done legal work as outside counsel for the county in the past. The Lorain County Prosecutor's Office represents both the Board of Commissioners and the Sheriff's Office and therefore has a conflict of interest preventing it from representing both sides in this dispute.

The intent of the 2011 agreement was consolidation of dispatch services, he wrote, and the board gained authority over hiring, firing and discipline at Lorain County 911, contract and union negotiations and responsibility for monetary and contract decisions.

Stammitti had argued that he maintained responsibility for the system because Lorain County has fewer than 750,000 residents, and that the board was not allowed to operate one unless he submitted a written waiver.

The 2011 agreement, Dooley wrote, "confirms that you not only declined to operate a communications system but that you expressly requested that the board continue operating the existing county system."

This means the board "has the exclusive and explicit authority under (Ohio law) to take all action consistent with its duty to operate the system, including contracting with MARCS to improve connectivity and reliability throughout the county," Dooley wrote.

Stammitti said Friday that he doesn't agree with Dooley's letter.

The Board of Commissioners was "proud" enough to announce it was creating a countywide public safety communications network in December, but "it's never been called that," he said.

The 2011 agreement "doesn't mention a system like that, it just mentions dispatch services," Stammitti said.

Stammitti said his next step probably was to consult with an attorney or get the board to hire one on his behalf, "go to court and let a judge decide."

Commissioners David Moore and Jeff Riddell, both Republicans, have been at odds with Stammitti, a Democrat, multiple public safety unions, county police and fire chiefs over emergency radio communications for more than a year.

Stammitti, his deputies, county fire chiefs and other elected officials prefer the Cleveland Communications L3 Harris radio system and got their wish in December 2022 when former commissioner Matt Lundy and current Commissioner Michelle Hung signed a multimillion-dollar agreement with CCI after years of study on the issue.

A month later, Moore and Riddell rescinded that contract to great criticism. Late last year, they adopted a different consultant's recommendation that the county go with the Multi-Agency Radio Communications System, or MARCS, over Hung's objection.

Multiple legal actions, including lawsuits by CCI against the county, have been filed over the issue since January 2023.

Hung took Stammitti's side in the latest disagreement on Tuesday. Moore and Riddell rejected Stammitti's claim.

Public safety forces in Avon, Avon Lake, North Ridgeville, Sheffield and Sheffield Lake were the first to adopt the CCI/L3 Harris radio system. Officials in those cities and Sheffield have said the system is working well.

Other cities, villages and townships have purchased the L3 Harris system as their preferred radios. County officials have promised that the L3 Harris radios will integrate seamlessly with the MARCS system.

So the sheriff now claims he has 911 control per ORC.

The county commissioners claim the sheriff relinquished 911 control to the commissioners in 2011. Enter the lawyers. Since both the commissioners and sheriff are legally represented by the prosecutors office, seems they both now need outside legal counsel.

Side note, this is one point of contention for consolidation of dispatch. Your agency loses control when the consolidators make foolish hardware and personnel choices.

 

[wa8pyr]

Commissioners' attorney disputes sheriff's claims over 911 dispatch control



So the sheriff now claims he has 911 control per ORC.

The county commissioners claim the sheriff relinquished 911 control to the commissioners in 2011. Enter the lawyers. Since both the commissioners and sheriff are legally represented by the prosecutors office, seems they both now need outside legal counsel.

Side note, this is one point of contention for consolidation of dispatch. Your agency loses control when the consolidators make foolish hardware and personnel choices.

If I recall correctly, the Sheriff's control of 911 only exists up to a certain population point; Delaware County went through the same dispute several years ago (and the parties had to get outside counsel) when the Sheriff insisted he legally had control of the 911 center... and lost. The threshold at the time was well below the 750,000 noted in the article.

 

[Jphila20]

Question for those in Lorain County. We had a fire not to far from us and Wellington FD was there talking on 159.075. I heard someone talking to Command and referred to it as "157". I could not hear "157". I'm guessing different channel/frequency and don't see one with that has that number or call sign.

Thoughts?

 

[wd8chl]

No idea, but 159.075 is the input to their repeater. Output is 151.025.

 

[rcid1971]

Any 5-City Radio streams known to be out there that aren't Broadcastify?