WORK SESSION AGENDA REQUEST

Raymond E. Graham, Chairman, Cedar Run District                    August 19, 2002

Department, Organization                                                                 Board of Supervisors

Or Person Making Request                                                                        Meeting Date 

Anthony I. Hooper, Assistant County Administrator

Staff Lead & Department 

TOPIC:           Update regarding the implementation of the Public Safety Radio System 

On February 19, 2002, the Board of Supervisors authorized the contract with Motorola for the design and construction of the 800 MHz radio system, in accordance with County specifications.  Since that time, staff of our consultants, CTA, Motorola and the County have been meeting to proceed with implementation.  To date, our work has focused on the following areas. 

            Radio Licenses: 

The County has previously been assigned frequencies through the Region 20 process.  Work has been initiated to seek licenses from the FCC based on the specific antenna plan proposed by Motorola to provide the coverage required.  The County has been issued an STA, a Temporary Authorization, that will allow use of these frequencies while licensing proceeds.  The formal application for licenses has been submitted and normal processing is expected to be completed within 6 months.  Steps to correct the mis-assignment of a channel with the Washington Airport Authority are also in process.  In addition, there is the opportunity to apply for two additional 800 frequencies. 

            Tower Site Licenses: 

For a number of months, the County Attorney’s office has been working to obtain the lease of towers with adequate elevation and space to accommodate the required equipment.  One lease has been executed, the View Tree agreement which is on this agenda, and, although negotiations on the remaining three sites continue, the County Attorney is seeking authorization to acquire space on towers at the other sites.  The County Attorney will provide additional information. 

            System Design: 

The Motorola contract provides a 6 month period for completing the detailed design review.  During this time, there have been numerous meetings between County staff, CTA and Motorola to review this document.  The document is available in the Board office for review.  CTA will provide written recommendation regarding the acceptance of the review and both CTA and Motorola will be at the work session to review the system design and address questions. 

Associated with the approval of the detailed design is the first significant payment from the County to Motorola.  A detailed implementation schedule has been prepared that outlines further steps in the implementation process.  Important upcoming targets are the system staging (December 2002), completion of site development (May 2003), and coverage testing in August 2003. 

REQUESTED ACTION: 

            The purpose of the review is to provide a detailed project update. 

FINANCIAL IMPACTS ANALYSIS: 

            None. 

IDENTIFY ANY OTHER DEPARTMENTS, ORGANIZATIONS OR INDIVIDUALS THAT WOULD BE AFFECTED BY THIS REQUEST: 

Sheriff’s Office

Fire and Rescue Association

Warrenton-Fauquier Joint Communications Center

Town of Warrenton