SNOHOMISH COUNTY EMERGENCY RADIO SYSTEM BOARD REGULAR MEETING. June 13, :00 AM 11:00 AM Edmonds City Hall

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1 SNOHOMISH COUNTY EMERGENCY RADIO SYSTEM BOARD REGULAR MEETING CHAIR: President Mark Soine June 13, :00 AM 11:00 AM Edmonds City Hall Call to Order/Roll Call Meeting called to order at 9:00 AM by President Mark Soine. Attendees: David Weiser (Marysville), Gary Haakenson (Edmonds), Wayne Kaske (Brier), Mike Murphy (Mukilteo), Brian Haseleu (Snohomish County), Steve Jensen (Lynnwood), Bob Stowe (Mill Creek), Bob Crannel (Mill Creek), Jeff Holmes (Brier), Steve Winters (Marysville), Brad Cattle (Anderson Hunter), Eric Andrews (Snohomish County Fire District 7), Jon (Wiz) Wiswell (Seattle), Tom Howell (SNOPAC), Steve Perry (SNOCOM), Zohreh Zandi (Community Transit), Ken Lindas (Motorola), Denny Casto (Motorola), Spencer Bahner (SERS), and Ron Solemsaas (SERS) Members not represented: Mountlake Terrace and Woodway Introductions and Announcements: Mark Soine introduced Eric Andrews representing Snohomish County Fire District 7. Public Comment: None Consent Items: 1. Acceptance of Minutes from the May 9, 2003 SERS Board meeting 2. Approval of SERS payroll, invoice, and expense summaries for June 2003 in the amount of $208, Warrant numbers /77/81/821-23/895, /45/51, , , /95/506, , , /825/44/52/53/59/83/88, /29/56/57/61/74-76/78-81/85/89, /28/32/33. Steve Jensen moved and Brian Haseleu seconded, approval of the consent calendar. The vote was unanimously in favor. Reports: SERS Manager s Report: Spencer referred to the manger s report included in the Board packet and had nothing to add at this point. Technical Committee Report: Tom Howell said that the talk group meetings for the SERS 800 MHz system have begun with the fire and police TACs. Spencer added that the first meeting was with fire and EMS followed by law enforcement and emergency management. A talk group discussion with the hospitals will take place on June 30 th. Steve Perry mentioned that he and Spencer met with the Zone 1 King County fire chiefs in order to add a number of talk groups to the SNOCOM fire groups. Steve will soon be meeting with Lake Forest Park and Bothell to discuss talk group sharing with law enforcement as well.

2 Communications Center Reports: None MDC Report: None Budget Subcommittee Report/Finance Report: Wayne Kaske said that there is nothing new to report that is not already covered in today s agenda. Personnel Subcommittee Report: None Community Transit Report: Zohreh Zandi said that Community Transit completed a comprehensive radio system survey. The result shows that the system is working better than last year and this is attributed to the new SERS Gunnysack Hill tower. A coverage problem still exists in downtown Seattle and CT s consultant suggested replacing the Tiger Mountain transmitter location with Capital Hill. The consultant will outline the recommendation at the end of this month. Zohreh asked if CT could use their licensed public safety channel in King County. Spencer said that this is within the NPSPAC committee s authority to approve the CT request as long as it is on a non-interfering basis with adjacent and co-channel occupants. Wiz said that the committee would review the application and look at the potential interference issues. It is possible the recommendation would be to change the application for items such as proposed antennas, power output, etc. Zohreh also mentioned that there is an issue with maintenance on the Mount Pilchuck microwave. Tom Howell added that the issue is due to a roofing project taking place at the Snohomish County courthouse and the radiation concerns the microwave installation may have on the roofing contractors. SNOPAC is obtaining data from SERS and Hatfield & Dawson. Hatfield & Dawson will be running a hazard report to alleviate any radiation concerns. Spencer said that he had informal discussions with a Hatfield & Dawson representative during a recent WWCIA meeting in Canada. This representative was a NIER expert and saw no potential radiation issues with the SNOPAC installation. Wiz added that this is consistent with a microwave study completed for the City of Seattle. It was found there that the only issues are when the installation is a broadcast transmitter. Old Business: Project Construction Status: Spencer said that all installation work at the Phase One sites has been completed (Bothell/Nike being the exception) and SERS staff along with the contractor are working through the punch list items now. The Bothell/Nike site is waiting for PUD power to be installed. This is necessary before Motorola can power up their installed equipment at this location. The project is on track to go through the system software upgrade and optimization. Tentative dates have also been set with the communication centers for their transition and integration into the 800 MHz system. In regards to Phase Two of the project, SERS has received authorization from PUD to move forward with License Agreements at 2 PUD sites. The construction work for these sites went through the County bid process and Spencer will be seeking Board authority to proceed with the bid award later in this meeting. SERS recently met with WSP staff regarding a proposal for King Lake. SERS is also awaiting draft lease language from DNR for two facilities. At Fire Trail (the prime site for Phase Two), SERS has received an established schedule from the Tulalip Tribes to obtain draft lease language. Land use for Fire Trail is being held up until the lease begins moving. Phase Two discussions between Snohomish County, Mill Creek and the addition of the Cities of Stanwood and Arlington as Phase Two users: Spencer said that there is an opportunity to have jurisdictions (who previously did not intend to join) to join SERS and the addition of Stanwood and Arlington as users in Phase Two is straightforward. Dan Clements has been leading the charge on both

3 of these topics but unfortunately could not attend this meeting as he is in Olympia involved in the Boeing 7E7 discussions. Brian Haseleu is attending in Dan s stead. The Cities of Stanwood and Arlington are asking for user status with SERS and are working on a separate interlocal with the County. Fire District 7 and the ECCG joining SERS is a broader issue and if they obtain Phase Two user status, they will also need to enter into a user agreement with SERS. Fire District 7 has been involved in negotiations with the City of Mill Creek and Snohomish County while SERS has also been included in the discussions. It is unclear if these discussions include only Fire District 7 or the full ECCG group. There are involved financial arrangements and discussions so Board involvement is required. Brian Haseleu distributed a handout showing the impact of adding 4,344 calls (the call component) should Fire District 7 join SERS as a Phase Two user. The call component is shown in the Phase One calculations on this handout along with the estimated annual assessments for ongoing Operations and Maintenance (O & M) using only the Sheriff s calls for Snohomish County. The handout also shows the estimated annual assessments for ongoing O & M using all calls for service for Phase Two entities for Snohomish County. Brian explained that this discussion has to do with the call component of the addition of Fire District 7 (FD7) as a Phase Two user versus had they been a Phase One member. It is no longer an operational service area issue for Phase One since they are joining in Phase Two. If FD7 joined in Phase One there would have been an additional 4,344 calls figured into the calculations, which would have lowered all Phase One members dollar contribution. The other components in the calculations as written, are area and population. FD7 s overlap area is with Mill Creek and Snohomish County. FD7 and Mill Creek have come to financial agreement in principal for the overlapping call component. The open issue is the approximate $85,000 for call volume that would have been returned to Phase One agencies from FD7. Brian also explained that the 2 nd paragraph of the handout is displaying the annual O & M contribution as if Snohomish County has all possible Phase Two agencies as users of the system. The bottom of the handout displays if all Phase Two entities join SERS as users, the additional contributions will lower all members/users O & M contribution. Spencer added that the top table of the handout represents the credit due to Phase One members for the call component. He said that a question to be answered is if membership to Phase One is a period of time or based on geographic area. There was a point in time where the SERS Board ended the possibility of added Phase One membership and anyone admitted from that point on would be a Phase Two user. The position of FD7, Mill Creek and Snohomish County is that the County is requesting Phase One members consider waiving reimbursement from FD7 members for the call component. Wayne Kaske said that Brier joined SERS believing that the 800 MHz system would be a countywide radio system and it should remain that way rather than having some cities or fire districts going out on their own with something other than 800 MHz. Wayne added that Brier is ok with waiving the fees that would otherwise be paid by FD7 for the reimbursement of the call component. Wayne said that this was discussed at the Budget Subcommittee meeting where it was recognized that this topic may result in a weighted vote. He added that the long term view recognizes that O & M is where the dollar benefit will be recouped. Wayne made it clear that the dollars associated with Briers decision to waive fees has just as much value to Brier as the larger Phase One members and that it is not a matter of the total dollars. He restated that his support is for a countywide radio system. Spencer said that Fire District 1 is a user of the system and not a member therefore would not be eligible for reimbursement of the calls component. Brian Haseleu then said that the County would be paying an additional $48,000 into O & M, which reduces the overall O & M. The County would then obtain dollars from the Phase Two users for their agreed upon share of the O & M costs. Steve Jensen asked why this proposal is necessary. Spencer answered that because of the ambiguity of Phase One versus Phase Two, it requires making policy as things proceed and that this same issue may be brought up at a later date with Marysville and Fire District 12. Spencer asked Eric if there is any special action by the FD7

4 Commissioners in order to move forward with their decision on joining SERS or going with another option. Eric said that they are waiting on a position from the SERS Board regarding the waiving of these added fees before deciding how they will proceed. Eric said that FD7 is looking at VHF and the costs associated and that it all comes down to the costs of both options. Eric continued by saying that FD7 thought that they had identified all the costs to join SERS but now what they view as new costs (the call component and reimbursement to Phase One members) have been added and the FD 7 Board of Commissioners needs a final number. Eric concluded by saying that FD7 needs the true costs to join SERS so that they can weigh these dollars against a new narrowband VHF system. He understands that interoperability is a big part of the decision making process but so are costs. Spencer added that the real question to answer today is the financial costs for FD7 to participate in SERS then after the Board of Commissioners make a decision; it should be brought back to the SERS Board to take action on acceptance of FD7 as a system user. Brad Cattle said that if a member is added to Phase One, there is a cost allocation formula and to change that would require a vote of supermajority. Brad added that Phase Two is up to the County. Mark Soine added that he is not sure if the County or cities involved in the overlapping service areas should pay but someone should be responsible for repayment. When fire service is brought into the areas in Phase One everyone is treated the same. Brad said that his understanding is Dan Clements is to meet with all parties for concurrence. By the next Board meeting we should have a legal analysis and Dan and Brad will work with Spencer to present a clear interpretation of the SERS Interlocal to the Board. Spencer asked if specific action is required by the Board in order to close the Phase One membership issue. Mark Soine said that it was drafted so that the fire districts could not come back for improved financial terms at a later date. Dave Weiser commented that Brier sees the benefit when the differences presented on Brian s handout are reviewed. However, Dave s concern is that O & M payment as displayed on the handout is approximately $20,000 per year and when Phase Two is operational it goes to approximately $40,000 per year. Using this data, members will never recoup the costs. Brian asked Spencer to confirm that Phase Two is paying a large portion of 2003 O & M. Spencer said that Phase Two is paid for from the bonded development funds in 2003 and that there is no Phase Two O & M assessment being collected at this point. Brian added that excluding the capital expenditures of the SERS project, the yearly budget for O & M is 40% to Phase One operations and 60% to Phase Two development. He added that when the project moves into full system operation, the O & M is spread equally among all members and users without regard to phase distinctions. Spencer said that over the life of the project, O & M has been divided 3 ways. Last year it was between the agency assessments, Phase One bond proceeds and Phase Two bond proceeds. In 2003 it is a 60/40 split (60% Phase Two development and 40% Phase One member operating assessments). Next year, the full SERS operations budget is funded entirely by member/user assessments. Wayne clarified that this waiver request is a one time dollar amount and not a recurring waiver of payments. Steve Jensen said that he would like to see the legal analysis and agrees with the SERS Board President on the waiver stance. Steve added that several months ago the County offered discounts for the fire districts and that they could do so as the County owns Phase Two so the discounts would affect only County money. However, this decision affects Phase One members as well. Steve added that this is not only a dollar issue but there may be philosophical differences as well so we would like to see a legal analysis before a decision is made. Eric clarified that FD7 is a Phase Two user and their legal council interprets the SERS interlocal being worded as such that they feel the call volume payback calculations only apply to Phase One members. Bob Stowe said that from his view, it is clear that FD7 is a Phase Two user. However, the policy issue that FD7 lies in large part within the Phase One service area and that is why this is brought to the Board to determine if the call component should be waived. A legal analysis will determine how to implement the Board decision but if the intent was for a degree of payback to the agencies it must be represented in some sort of Board action. Bob continued by saying that the SERS Budget Subcommittee notes indicated

5 that FD7 and Mill Creek reached a cost agreement at approximately ½ the original reimbursement for the call component dollars but as of last Monday, the district is offering Mill Creek about a quarter of the reimbursement (approximately $30,000). Mark Soine suggested this topic be included on the agenda for the next SERS Board meeting. Spencer asked for clarification if the County is asking for acceptance of FD7 as a Phase Two user. Brian stated he is not sure what action would need to be taken. Spencer then said that there are 2 distinct pieces that are required for an agency to become a user of the SERS system. The first is the financial relationship with the County. The second is the relationship between the user agency and SERS and this takes place through an executed user agreement. Last year a draft user agreement was distributed to Board members that discussed FCC rules and the standards that must be followed. The cities of Arlington and Stanwood have entered into an interlocal with the County for Phase Two user status. This would be conditioned on a final user agreement document being executed with SERS. Spencer asked Brian if these cities were asking for admission for law enforcement, fire or both. Tom Howell said that both cities have their own fire departments and Brian added that it would be for fire and law enforcement and that there are no overlapping issues in these instances. Brad Cattle said that as far as the interlocal goes, SERS may provide access to the system with a letter. He then suggested that if the Board is willing to accept users, it authorizes the County to prepare a draft agreement to fully implement them as users. Spencer prefers to get a draft user agreement to Brad to allow him to shape the language in light of the interlocal. Brad added that the point would be to approve an agreement for a user and ultimately take final action. Dave Weiser said that there should not be a problem with Stanwood but as far as Arlington, the Marysville Fire Department covers the assessed valuation. Bob Stowe said that his understanding in regards to FD7 is that their commissioners are unwilling to commit to 800 MHz until they obtain the final costs for joining. Members must also clarify their thoughts of inclusion of FD7 and other agencies that come with them. Spencer commented that from a public safety standpoint, the benefit of including Monroe and Sultan fire (also members of the ECCG as is FD7) on the SERS system is clearly substantial and that having different radio systems (should the ECCG pursue a VHF solution) across boundaries creates technical and operational challenges. He said that the financial aspects and policy issues are important but all districts on one system are more important from the standpoint of public policy. Tom Howell said that coordination through communications is the most important issue. Bob Stowe asked if the Board expects FD7 to commit to 800 MHz before the final costs are determined. Mark Soine asked if the starting point should be to obtain the full cost of admission followed by a motion to waive the full cost until Brad finishes the analysis. Spencer then asked if the Board is willing to waive the call component so that FD7 discussion can progress. Brian questioned if it is legal for Phase One members to have the right to the call component. Brad interjected that the waiver must be done by supermajority with an amendment to the SERS Interlocal Agreement. Mark said that this would be included in the legal analysis, including conditions the Board can place on new users if they are Phase One or Phase Two. Mark asked if it is the will of the Board to defer the decision of adding Stanwood and Arlington as users until the analysis is completed by Brad and a legal opinion is made. Wayne Kaske said that he disagreed with the original draft user agreement that was distributed last year. He feels that the members already have an interlocal in place and considers the user agreement for users not members. Wayne stated that he is willing to have legal review the user agreement to determine if members are required to sign this agreement with SERS. He added that he would not take a user agreement back to his council. Mark said that the waiver for FD7 and the addition of Stanwood and Arlington will be deferred until Brad completes the legal analysis.

6 New Business: Review and provide authority for SERS Manager and Snohomish County Purchasing to issue award of bid for construction of two Phase Two facilities: Spencer said that SERS is far enough along with the leasing process with PUD for 2 Phase Two facilities that it was feasible to issue a request for bid for the construction work at the sites. The Snohomish County bid process took place and 8 companies responded to the bid. Spencer directed attention to the Board packet, which includes a list of the qualified bidders, and the construction costs associated with the 2 facilities. Brookstone Telecom is the lowest qualified bidder. Spencer made note that SERS staff is currently checking references and by all accounts there are no issues with awarding the construction work to Brookstone Telecom. SERS is looking for authority to provide a notice to Snohomish County to proceed with the award of the bid to Brookstone Telecom following successful completion of the reference checks. Spencer noted that the bid amount on 1 site is slightly over budget while the other is slightly under. The aggregate total is under budget. Wayne Kaske moved and Brian Haseleu seconded the acceptance of the bid from Brookstone Telecom and authorized Snohomish County to provide a notice to proceed to Brookstone Telecom for the 2 Phase Two locations as stated. The vote was unanimously in favor. US Coast Guard and FBI requests for access at SERS sites: This is an informational item. Spencer said that SERS has received requests for access to the Marysville property located at the Marysville Tank tower site. The FBI has confirmed interest in locating within the building being proposed at the site for the US Coast Guard. SERS will be asking for interoperability capability to their proposed installation as a condition of access to the site. There has also been discussion with the FBI and US Coast Guard for access to the Rucker Hill site. Unfortunately, due to the number of frequencies the US Coast Guard would like to place in operation, the risk for interference is high so SERS staff have decided to decline further discussions at the Rucker Hill location. The FBI interests were low for the Rucker Hill location and they have since decided to only pursue access to the Marysville Tank site. Lease with Hampton Affiliates at Granite Falls: Spencer said that the Board previously reviewed the lease for the Granite Falls site in concept. The lease began with the standard language as is included with other SERS leases. A few changes were made. The first is the rate, which is very reasonable, that being set at $4,800 per year. Since the owners of the property are in the timber management business, they refuse accommodations to protect the SERS microwave paths on the proposed tower. This is a nonissue to SERS as the property has recently been clear-cut and the tops of any mature tree will not exceed the height of the proposed microwave antenna locations. Also the revenue collected from co-locators will be shared with the property owner and no penalty will be imposed on SERS if there is a lack of co-location revenue. Another change is the length of the lease. The property owner will only allow a single 15-year lease with a single 5-year renewal. Spencer asked for authority to have the SERS Board President execute the lease with Hampton Affiliates. Dave Weiser moved and Bob Stowe seconded the motion to authorize the SERS Board President to execute a lease with Hampton Affiliates for the Granite Falls tower site. The vote was unanimously in favor. Agency Draw Downs: Spencer made note of an advisory item. Agencies with interest earnings on bond funds are beginning to draw down the amounts and use the money for the purchase of radios. The mechanism to request issuance of these funds is to contact Dan Clements. Analog/Digital Portable Radios: SERS has entered into discussions with Motorola regarding an option of purchasing a different portable radio other than the basic analog radio currently under contract (the MTS

7 2000). This new radio (the XTS 2500) provides significant benefit but appears to lack 2 critical features, one of which may relate to Motorola s contracted system performance. The Motorola offering comes with no incremental cost over the original portable but SERS staff and communication center directors must review the impact. This discussion will take place with Motorola and SERS after the Board meeting. The topic will then be discussed with the communication centers and TACs. Motorola Coverage Maps: Spencer said that one of the key issues for rural fire district participation on the SERS system is that of predicted coverage. This is an issue with the ECCG and other agencies. The hope was to have Motorola prepare maps of the predicted Phase Two coverage area illustrating the political features and predicted system coverage performance. The Motorola provided maps that SERS currently have, represent predicted coverage assuming facilities remain the same. Motorola is concerned with releasing maps early since details of the facilities may change by the time Phase Two construction is completed. Another issue is that Motorola created the maps using proprietary mapping software. Motorola is concerned about releasing modifiable data to Snohomish County so that the County can overlay the data onto a more detailed map illustrating the political features as requested by the rural districts and others. SERS understanding is that Phase Two maps are available as PDF documents and Motorola is reluctant to run new maps illustrating the political features until Phase Two construction is complete. Another option is to pay Motorola for the process of entering the Phase Two data into new proprietary mapping software prior to Phase Two construction. Ken Lindas added that Motorola has received the geographical data from Snohomish County and he is investigating if this data is compatible with the new Motorola mapping software. Spencer said that either the County or the Board could elect to have the new maps printed if it is technically feasible, to illustrate the expected performance (fee associated). The other option is to wait until Phase Two work is completed and then have the maps produced (no fee). The cost to produce the maps before Phase Two completion has been quoted by Motorola to be $1,000 per map. A full set of maps for Phase Two would be approximately $18,000 for all layers, analog and digital. The issue is driven by the County s need to have better documents to assist in Phase Two user agency sign ups. Spencer suggested that Brian Haseleu discuss this with Dan Clements. Spencer also said that Motorola is currently in the process of producing Phase One maps using the new proprietary mapping software. Tom Howell stated that knowing how the districts operate, new maps may not be convincing and that the Sheriff s Office has offered to do real on street coverage testing with the fire fighters after the system is constructed. Tom said that the question is how long SNOPAC will keep the VHF system operational. Spencer said that the real issue is the County s timeline to secure Phase Two users and to not wait until after the system is completely constructed. Steve Perry commented that members bought into the system using the existing maps and from his standpoint (as a non-member) there are other financial issues on the table should there be money left over after project completion. There are other needs for remaining project dollars (if any) other than using $18,000 for maps to satisfy potential Phase Two users. Spencer said that SERS staff has interest in seeing new maps that match what was represented initially as there have been some antenna changes. The standard for actual testing is defined differently. Mark Soine asked if the $1,000 per map layer goes to Snohomish County GIS or Motorola. Spencer confirmed that the fee goes to Motorola. Miscellaneous: Spencer said that he is scheduled for an out of town family event during the time of the SERS August Board meeting. He asked if the Board would prefer to run the meeting without his presence or consider an alternate date. Spencer added that the agenda could be limited to the approval of purchases if the desire is to maintain the scheduled August date. Dave Weiser suggested leaving the date as is for now. A final

8 date can be determined later if needed. Bob Stowe thanked Spencer for attending a recent Mill Creek City Council meeting. Upcoming Issues: Adjourn: Meeting adjourned at 10:25 AM.