2014 2:00:00 PM

Monday, November 10, 2014 2:00 PM
Council Chambers, Legislative Bldg., 745 4th St., Sparks

Consent Items: 8.3

Title: Consideration and possible approval for the Fire Department to apply for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 2015 Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG) for the planning, development and construction of a communication repeater site; relocation of radio repeater equipment to that site; and the addition of microwave radio equipment to link City Hall IT infrastructure with Fire Stations 4 and 5.

Petitioner/Presenter: Tom Garrison, Fire Chief/Jake Conely, Fire Captain

Recommendation: Staff recommends that Council approve and direct the Fire Department to apply for the FEMA 2015 AFG grant.

Financial Impact: Estimated amount to cover the 10% match is approximately $82,050 to be paid in FY16. This project would also result in additional electricity costs to operate the equipment, which could be offset by no longer needing to lease the T-1 lines to Station 4 and 5. The FY15 budget contains $75,000 for city wide grant match. The FY16 budget would need to be increased to cover the $82,054 and any other amount the Council wishes to have available for additional grants in FY16. There is also opportunity to secure all or a portion of the funding from the Joint Operational Committee (JOC) of the Washoe County Regional 800 MHz Communication System.

Total Costs: $82,050.00

Fund: General Fund Account: 603180
Program: Emergency Services (100401)
Amount: $82,050.00 Budget Status: Budget Exists

Business Impact (Per NRS 237):
A Business Impact Statement is not required because this is not a rule.

Agenda Item Brief:

The Fire Department is requesting approval to apply for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 2015 Assistance to Firefighters Grant to develop a communication repeater site on leased BLM land northwest of Pyramid Highway and Wedekind road (Wedekind Site); move existing radio repeater equipment from the Nugget to this site; and add microwave radio equipment to provide wideband data communication between the City’s IT infrastructure and Fire Stations 4 and 5. With the growth of the City into Spanish Springs, the current repeater site on top of the east tower of the Nugget does not provide effective radio coverage throughout the City. Developing the Wedekind Site with its coverage of the entire City would also provide a “hub” to provide data coverage to outlying fire stations (and other city facilities) using microwave radio equipment. Currently Fire Station 4 and 5 share a 1.5 MB data connection, and the proposed equipment will provide up to 320 MB for each fire station. Estimated cost for the complete project is $820,500, with the 10% grant match of $82,050 being the responsibility of the City.

Background:

Currently, the City has two radio repeaters on top of the east tower of the Nugget hotel, one is a 800 MHz conventional repeater used as a backup to the Washoe County Regional Communication System (WCRCS), the other is a VHF (150 MHz) conventional repeater used by Sparks Fire as a back up to the WCRCS and for communication with other regional fire agencies during wildland fires or other large incidents. As the City has expanded into the Spanish Springs valley, the City has outgrown the radio coverage provided by the Nugget site resulting in numerous dead zones within the Spanish Springs area.

Several years ago Sparks Fire identified an existing radio site located north of Wedekind Road and west of the Pyramid Highway. Its location on the ridgeline provides coverage for both the downtown and Spanish Springs areas of the City. The site is currently leased from BLM by Charter Communication and has electrical power, fence and concrete pad. Charter has not used the site for several years due to technology changes and the City has been in discussion with both BLM and Charter in an effort to obtain the lease. Once the lease is obtained, there will be no annual lease cost since the BLM will not charge a local government entity.

Additionally, the Fire Department has also been struggling with very slow data communication to the outlying fire stations – Station 4 and 5. This slow data communication affects fire report writing, VOIP telephone system, CAD interface, and on-line training (the connection to these stations does not allow for quality streaming video limiting our methods to deliver training).

Analysis:

Communication, both radio and data, is essential for the safe, effective and timely delivery of Public Safety services. Although these repeaters are ‘backups’ to our primary radio system, catastrophic events (severe weather, earthquake, human-caused events, etc.) make a back-up system critical to maintain effective communications in order to ensure delivery of emergency services. Building a modern communication site meeting all current construction, earthquake and security standards in a location that provides radio frequency coverage for the entire City will ensure these resources are available when needed.

This location also provides excellent ‘line-of-sight’ to City facilities allowing for the proposed microwave radio system to provide high capacity data communication (320 MB) to Fire Station 4 and 5, solving the limited bandwidth issue. This same system could then be expanded to provide data communication to any facility within the entire City. Once installed, this equipment would be owned and licensed by the City with no reoccurring cost other than utility cost and occasional maintenance. Currently, the Fire Department uses leased T-1 data circuits to the four outlying stations at a cost or $220.00 per month per station ($10,560.00 annually) with Station 4 and 5 sharing the same T-1 connection.

Alternatives:

Council could chose not to approve the Fire Department to apply for the FEMA 2015 AFG Grant.

Recommended Motion:

Staff recommends that Council approve and direct the Fire Department to apply for the FEMA 2015 AFG Grant.

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