Washington County Digital Switch

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Digital switch means tough decision for Jonesborough
By Heather Richardson
Press Staff Writer
hrichardson@johnsoncitypress.com


When Johnson City decided to approve a contract with Motorola worth more than $4.8 million for new digital emergency radio communications equipment, the public safety and fire departments of Jonesborough and Washington County learned they too would have to purchase new equipment to be able to communicate with their departments.
The Jonesborough Board of Mayor and Aldermen will decide Monday evening whether to spend the nearly $200,000 Motorola is asking for in order for its public safety and fire departments to be able to use Johnson City’s new system.

“I have warned the town for over a year now that there was coming a day when we would have to replace all of our radio equipment in Public Safety,” Operations Manager Craig Ford said in a memo to the board. “This is due to the Public Safety re-banding in which the FCC allowed Sprint to purchase the 800 (megahertz) frequency public safety has utilized nationwide. This time has come.”

Ford said a Motorola representative advised that Jonesborough must order the radios now or risk not having them in time for the switchover – a matter which is not an option considering there would be no way for police officers or firefighters to communicate.

Johnson City is expecting to make the transition to digital in the fall.

If Jonesborough approves entering a lease agreement with Motorola it will not have to make the first payment until the 2010-11 fiscal year. However, there is no pre-payment penalty and the town has the option to begin making payments this year.

According to Ford, the postponed payment could allow more time to build up the Litigation and Drug Fund so general funds may not have to be utilized for the purchase.

The radio purchase will cost $177,000 – approximately $50,000 less than originally estimated.

The purchase will include 22 mobile radios, 32 portable radios and four upgrades.

Also on Monday evening’s agenda is a decision on an amendment to the lease with Norfolk-Southern Corp. for the land on which the Depot Street Park sits.

In 1992 the town entered into a lease agreement with Norfolk-Southern to lease the 1.13 acres where the park has been developed. The agreement called for Jonesborough to pay $100 a year.

Norfolk-Southern has conducted a review of the property and wants to increase the lease payment to $300 per year.

The board also will discuss and take possible action concerning the following agreements:

• State highway maintenance contract for fiscal year 2009-10.

• Town recorder employment agreement

• Wellness program-business health agreement with Mountain States Health Alliance.

Discussion and possible action will also be taken on the personnel policy, Tennessee Municipal League Safety Partners Grant, employee health insurance and the Veterans Park policy.

The meeting will be held in the Town Hall board room at 7 p.m.

 

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County seeks city help to purchase new radios
By Heather Richardson
Press Staff Writer
hrichardson@johnsoncitypress.com


Washington County is looking at more than a $1 million expense to purchase a new radio system for emergency service communications.
Johnson City commissioners approved a $4.8 million contract with Motorola in December to provide new emergency radio communications equipment for the city. Since Washington County services are users of the Johnson City system they will need to replace all radios and repeaters to be compatible with the new system.

Radios will need to be provided for all of the county’s emergency services including the sheriff’s department, six volunteer fire departments, the Washington County Emergency 911 Center and the Johnson City/Washington County Emergency Medical Services.

A total of 116 radios will need to be replaced by the volunteer fire departments totaling $372,345.60. The cost for new equipment needed at the sheriff’s department is $570,998.80.

Washington County Sheriff’s Department’s Fleet and Communications Supervisor Alan Kyker said in a report to the Public Safety Committee on Jan. 13 the changeover would require a four- to six-week installation window and should be completed by June.

Public Safety Committee Chairman Pete Speropulos told county commissioners at their monthly meeting Monday morning the issue will be discussed at the city/county liaison meeting Thursday evening. Since some of the services needing new equipment are used by both the city and county, the committee will be requesting funding assistance from the city.

“We’re going to see if we can get them to help us fund EMS and 911 because those are provided city services also,” Speropulos said.

The meeting will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

Like Johnson City’s outdated radios, Speropulos said he believed the radios the county is currently using are at least 20 years old.

“Alan (Kyker) has done a great job in maintaining the ones we have,” Speropulos said. However, “it’s been a long time that we’ve had them so they are due an update.”

Johnson City officials approved the purchase of their new system and equipment during a special meeting in December in order to take advantage of a discount from Motorola. Speropulos said the county knew it would eventually have to purchase new radios but since Johnson City is updating its system now the county has no choice but to update as well.

“We’ve got to change over,” Speropulos said. “We didn’t expect it to be coming as soon as it is, but we have to do it.”

Along with the county, Jonesborough’s public safety and fire agencies, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also use Johnson City’s communication system as needed.

The new system will be digital-capable, which will allow for clearer and broader communication.

 

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November target date for city’s radio system
By Rex Barber
Press Staff Writer
rbarber@johnsoncitypress.com


The newly approved multimillion dollar digital communications network for Johnson City’s emergency services should be implemented by November.
According to Director of Motor Transport Tim Henley, the city will erect a new communications tower on Buffalo Ridge in Gray after Motorola builds the structure at a facility in Illinois later in 2009. Once the tower is complete, the city will send people to inspect it and ensure it is running properly before bringing it to Johnson City for installation.

The $4.8 million allocated for the new system will go to purchase not only the digital/analog radios and tower, but additional infrastructure equipment including controllers, repeaters and new consoles and computers for the Johnson City/Washington County 911 Emergency dispatch center.

“All the guts of the system, you might say,” Henley said.

The City Commission approved the expenditure of $4,895,000 for the Motorola system during a special called meeting Monday morning. Commissioners had to act before the end of the year to take advantage of Motorola’s discount. The systems the city now uses also is from Motorola but is 20 years old.

“You know, the life span on a communication system is anywhere from 10 to 15 years so we pushed the envelope on that a little bit,” Henley said.

The new system will be digital capable, which is the only real option for this kind of communications system today.

“There is no other option for public safety,” Henley said. “The technology is going toward digital. One thing it does is it gives you integrated voice and data. Digital is the way communication is going. It’s the way you got to go.”

Many public safety agencies use Johnson City’s communications system. Outside agency users are the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, volunteer fire departments, and Jonesborough’s public safety and fire agencies. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also use Johnson City’s communication system as needed.

But some sections of the area are not reachable by the one tower on Buffalo Mountain that currently covers Washington County. There is also a backup tower on Holston Mountain. Once the Buffalo Ridge tower is installed, communications should be less spotty.

“Basically the tower on Buffalo Ridge is going to give us better coverage in the northern end of the city and northern end of the county,” Henley said.

The city will need to purchase about 500 radios from Motorola for the new system, but 341 radios are scheduled to be rebanded at the expense of Sprint/Nextel to comply with communications interference standards set by the Federal Communications Commission.

Through this rebanding process, public safety channels will have their own designated space on the 800 MHz band, preventing the interference of other non-public safety communications.

 

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City Commission OKs $4.8 million for emergency radio equipment
By Rex Barber
Press Staff Writer
rbarber@johnsoncitypress.com


Johnson City’s public servants should soon have clearer, more reliable communications in more areas.
In a special meeting Monday morning Johnson City commissioners approved a contract with Motorola worth more than $4.8 million to provide new emergency radio communications equipment for the city.

The city has about 1,500 radios for use by the police and fire departments, including county agencies. It is unclear just how many new radios will be purchased, but they will continue to work off the Motorola system currently in place and also feature the capability to provide both digital and analog communications.

City Commissioner Steve Darden said eventually police and fire communications will be done on a wholly digital setup and these purchases are toward that end.

Johnson City Mayor Jane Myron said commissioners had to meet Monday morning to give a final vote to Motorola’s bid because it would expire soon and the city would lose a discount. Darden said commissioners had delayed a vote because Motorola originally wanted all the $4,895,000 for its equipment up front. The city eventually secured a more traditional payment plan after about 10 months of negotiation. Besides the discount, the city’s radios were outdated.

“We’ve gotten approximately 20 years of use out of the equipment we have,” Darden said. “And we can’t get replacement parts.”

Myron said there are sections of the community and surrounding areas where radio signals do not reach. She said that should be remedied by the installation of new communications towers soon.

“For example, Sulphur Springs,” Myron said. “They don’t have contact in Sulphur Springs.”

There are other areas, too, and Myron said she thought there were discussions about locating a tower in the Gray area.

Darden said reliable radio communications is essential to protecting the public.

“It’s essential to maintain the ability of our police, fire and emergency responders to communicate,” Darden said. “And this will ensure that we have state-of-the-art communication equipment so the people who protect us can do their jobs without any interruptions.”

 

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Jonesborough board likes spending plan
By Heather Richardson
Press Staff Writer
hrichardson@johnsoncitypress.com


The Jonesborough Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the town’s budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year — a budget leaders think will add a great deal of improvements for the town.
“It’s a bigger budget than we had last year but it’s a lot better budget,” Mayor Kelly Wolfe said.

The budget includes a $400,000 paving plan which is intended to tackle most of Jonesborough’s paving problems. It also calls for what Wolfe said are desperately needed improvements at the water treatment plant and the sewer treatment plant. Those improvements will be funded, in part, by a $2 monthly increase and a 10 percent water usage increase in residents’ water bills.

“While this is unpleasant it is unfortunately necessary,” Wolfe said.

New town equipment, radios and police cruisers are also accounted for in the new budget.

On the board’s agenda was the consideration of a $200,000 contract with Motorola for the purchase of new emergency communication radios so that the town’s public safety and fire department employees will be able to communicate with one another after Johnson City makes the switch to digital this fall.

The item passed unanimously without much discussion. Alderman Mary Gearhart asked Operations Manager Craig Ford why 58 radios were needed. Ford said that in addition to all of the public safety and fire department’s full time employees being provided a radio, reserve officers and volunteer firefighters would also have access to radios while working. During special events such as Jonesborough Days and the Storytelling Festival many of these reserves are utilized.

“You have to have a way for those individuals to communicate,” Ford said.

The board also approved an amended Veterans Park policy that reflected the decision of memorial granite bricks honoring Confederate soldiers who resided in Washington County to be included in the Jonesborough Veterans Park.

The board decided during their June meeting, after much controversy surrounding the exclusion of bricks honoring Confederate soldiers, to allow such bricks to be purchased and included in the park. The board asked that the Veterans Affairs committee amend the park’s policy to reflect their decision.

The policy states that Washington County veterans serving either in the Union or Confederate Military from 1861 through 1865 shall contain the rank and name of the soldier. The inscription “Civil War” will be substituted for the branch of military service.

The policy also addresses which flags will be allowed in the Jonesborough Park. These flags are to include the United States flag, the Tennessee flag and the flags of the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard. The memorial standard flag with the inscription POW/MIA will also be flown in the park.

No other flags or standards are permitted in the park unless authorize, in advance, by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

“I think this is a fair policy for the town of Jonesborough and in spirit of that fairness it recognizes both sides of that war,” Wolfe said.