System outlined to council
Posted 22 days ago
Leeds and Thousand Islands Township councillors were asked this week to approve the township's share of the multi-million cost to replace the aging analogue communication system being used by the fire services of Leeds County.
Already in the second phase of the project, Steve Seale of the Leeds Fire Communications committee formed two years ago, said Monday the township's portion of the nearly $5.9-million project is approximately $453,000.
"We are moving to digital technology," said Seale. "Analogue frequencies are becoming inoperable and harder to come by."
Repairing current radio parts, which are already becoming obsolete, will be next to impossible in the ensuing years, council was told.
The report recommended pagers be replaced with portable radios, the dispatch console be replaced, a new VHF digital radio system and a second tactical voice channel be implemented.
"These cost estimates are for budgetary purposes," Steale stressed, noting they are based on price estimates from Motorola, the current system provider.
Phase one of the upgrade has already begun in Brockville with the replacing of the dispatch unit. That work is expected to be completed by the end of June.
"We need to obtain the budget approval to proceed to phase two," said Seale.
The new system is expected to be up and running by 2015.
Gananoque and Leeds and Thousand Islands Fire Chief Gerry Bennett said the current system in Leeds and Grenville is more than 20 years old.
"Calls are increasing and sometimes they are back to back," said Chief Bennett.
"Now we are having problems (hearing calls) in the most vital areas. We are hoping for better coverage and want to make council aware that we need funding. Our purpose is to get council to budget for it. And, if not, we need to look at other options for dispatching."
Currently, areas serviced in the county are Elizabethtown-Kitley, Edwardsburg-Cardinal, Kemptville, Prescott, Augusta, Athens, Rideau Lakes and TLTI. Gananoque has its own dispatch with the Gananoque Police Service.
Councillor Geri Dickson asked if Gananoque could be involved in this process, "or at least made aware of what is going on. Or are we like two separate ships at sea on this? And what are the ongoing costs going to be?"
Seale said the maintenance and service agreement with Motorola will continue and the cost has been consistant since 1995.
